Elementary student had a gun in his backpack on SC school bus, district says

A 6-year-old South Carolina boy was found to have a gun in his backpack on the bus to school, after several other students saw the firearm and alerted the bus driver, according to the school district.

The incident happened Wednesday morning on a bus to Chukker Creek Elementary School in Aiken, reports WJBF.

Students were preparing to exit their bus when several of them told the driver that a 6-year-old boy had a gun in his backpack, according to a statement from the district cited by the Aiken Standard. The newspaper reported that an email was sent to Chukker Creek parents alerting them of the situation.

A phone message also was sent to Chukker Creek parents, telling them that the student was taken to the school’s front office when the bus arrived at school, and that a gun was found in his bag, according to WRDW. The student with the gun is in the custody of the Aiken Department of Public Safety, and no students were hurt.

It was not immediately clear what kind of gun was involved or how it ended up in the boy’s backpack.

There was no word on charges Wednesday afternoon.

The Aiken incident came a day after a Newberry High School student ran out of a classroom with a handgun after the weapon and a magazine fell out of his backpack and were seen by a teacher, prompting a lockdown and activation of the school’s active-shooter alert system.

That student was later arrested on Interstate 26 and is charged with possession of a weapon on school grounds and disorderly conduct, according to authorities.

This story was originally published November 14, 2018 at 2:58 PM.