8-Year-Old Bringing Gun To School Among 3 Philadelphia Schools Locked Down On Friday
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It's been a tough day for students and parents in three Philadelphia schools that were locked down because of concerns about weapons in the building. A student brought a bullet to the Thomas Holme School in Torresdale, another student brought a toy gun to J. Hampton Moore Elementary School in Northeast Philly, and a real gun was discovered inside Universal Daroff Charter School in West Philly.
School officials say the second-grader had the gun in his book bag, and as soon as a teacher saw it, she took it and the school called police.
SEPTA Transit Police Officer Tackles Would-Be-Robber On Market-Frankford Line
Parents came to pick up their children after hearing about what happened. Around 750 students attend the kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school that's located on the 5600 block of Vine Street.
Police received a phone call around 10:15 a.m. about an 8-year-old student armed with a gun.
Officers arrived and discovered the gun, which was found in the student's backpack, was not loaded.
The second-grade boy's parents showed up and they were taken to a Philadelphia police station for questioning.
The school was placed on lockdown for about 10 minutes.
School administrators say they sent texts and robocalls out to parents. Some parents say that they never received it and learned about the incident on the CBS3 broadcast and social media.
One eighth-grade student learned about what was happening on Instagram during the school lockdown.
"The announcement said it was just a lockdown, it didn't say what was happening," said student Sahmir Scruggs. "We were all nervous because we didn't know what it was."
Insurance Company Representing Bill Cosby Agrees To Settle Defamation Lawsuits By 7 Women
"All I know is I seen the second-grader brought a gun and I came and I got my baby, that's it," said parent Myya Spruell. "She's in the second grade, so I didn't know if they were in a class or what, so I came and got my daughter."
The school released a statement, reading, in part, "We are working closely with the authorities to get a full understanding of how the scholar had possession of a weapon. Please note that all staff involved handled the matter efficiently and effectively. We take all matters seriously and are clear about expectations for scholars. We are happy there were no incidents and everyone is safe and the building is secured."
It's not clear if the student's parents will face any charges.
At the Thomas Holme School, police say a girl brought a live round of ammunition that forced a lockdown.
Also, frantic parents rushed to J. Hampton Moore Elementary School after reports of a student with a gun there. The school was locked down as officers searched the building. It turned out that gun was actually a toy that looked real.
"I like the precautions that they took for student safety. They had my daughter locked in the principal's office so i knew she was safe. But, I mean, it's just crazy that we live in a society where even a toy gun can bring us to this," said one mother.
She says officials told her the student who brought the toy is in fifth grade.
The lockdowns at all three schools were lifted.
CBS Philly reporter Chantee Lans contributed to this article.