SAN ANTONIO – An 8-year-old who brought a loaded gun to school on Tuesday will be facing appropriately severe discipline, according to officials.
But will the owner of the gun who allowed a third-grader to get a hold of the weapon face the same?
That's the question upset parents asked Wednesday, as more details about the incident at East Terrell Hills Elementary emerged.
"The student was showing the weapon off to his classmates when one of them told a teacher about it," said Aubrey Chancellor, spokeswoman for the North Eastern Independent School District.
That teacher quickly found the weapon and took it and the student to the principal.
A catastrophe was averted, and district officials do not believe the student had any malicious intent, only wanting to show off the gun.
"This is still a very serious incident, though, so we sent a letter home to parents just explaining to them what happened," said Chancellor.
An NEISD police investigation is underway, but at this time, information about how the student got the gun have not yet been released.
Under Texas law, gun-owners must properly secure firearms from children, and are not allowed to leave them places where a child could access them.
That means the gun-owner in this case could face charges, if the district police wanted to press them.
It was unclear Wednesday whether officials would proceed in that manner.
For a list of recent stories Matt Rivers has done, click here.