Boy, 8, Brings Loaded Handgun to NYC School: NYPD

It's not clear why the boy brought the weapon to school or to whom it belonged

An 8-year-old boy allegedly brought a loaded gun to his school in Brooklyn on Friday, police said.

Authorities said that teachers at P.S. 91 on Albany Avenue in East Flatbush discovered that the boy had a gun during an end-of-year celebration in the school yard.

All students were asked to sit on their bags, but the boy didn't want to sit on his, according to the NYPD. That's when a teacher noticed the bag was heavy, and took a look inside and saw the gun in a smaller plastic bag.

The teacher then told the school's principal, who called police.

According to the NYPD, the firearm was a Taurus handgun with four bullets inside.

It's not clear why the boy brought the weapon to school or to whom it belonged.

The boy and his parents were being interviewed at the 71st precinct.

Parent Shawnte Griffith, who was picking up her 5-year-old at the school Friday afternoon, said she got a letter from the school notifying her of the incident. 

"Good thing for everyone else it was taken away before anything happened," she said. "I'm in shock, at a loss for words."

The Department of Education said in a statement: "We are working closely with the NYPD as they investigate this troubling incident. Nothing is more important than the safety of all students and staff, and there is zero tolerance for weapons of any kind." 

The head of the city's school security guards union again called for more metal detectors and scanners at schools. The union has been vocal about installing the machines after a rash of similar incidents in the spring in which students were caught with guns.

Parents at P.S. 91 Friday seemed to support the idea.

"I think from now on, they need to start bringing metal detectors, no matter how young the children are," Denzel Pompey said. 

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