Houston - A kindergarten child who brought a loaded gun to his Houston elementary school on Tuesday was among three students injured when it fired after falling from his pocket as he sat down for lunch, officials said.
One bullet was fired about 10.35am in the Ross Elementary School cafeteria, spraying fragments at the students, said Houston Independent School District Assistant Police Chief Robert Mock.
“Either some type of chips off the floor, or it could be pieces of the round that discharged,” Mock said. “They had some cuts and stuff on their legs, they don't appear to be life threatening.”
Two six-year-old boys were wounded, including the one who had the gun. The boy who brought the gun was injured in his foot and the other boy was grazed in his leg, said Sam Sarabia, the elementary chief school officer for the Houston school district. A five-year-old girl was injured in her knee, he said.
All three children were put on stretchers and taken in ambulances to be checked out at a hospital.
House police spokesperson Victor Senties said it is too early in the investigation to tell if any charges will be filed.
Kennedi Glapion, 6, who was being picked up from school by her grandmother, said she saw the gun after it fell under a cafeteria table.
“It dropped on the floor, under the table. It was loud, it was so loud,” said the girl, who added that after the gun went off she was scared and started crying.
School district spokesperson Norm Uhl said that the boy could face disciplinary action including being sent to an alternative school for up to 180 days. He said that no punishment has been decided yet. - Sapa-AP