A handgun on top of books inside a backpack.

Texas Fourth Grader Takes Loaded Gun to School in Backpack

  • By Yvonne Marquez
  • November 10, 2020

A Fort Worth, Texas elementary school sent a letter to parents notifying them about an incident where a student carried a loaded gun in their backpack.

In the letter to parents with students at Greenfield Elementary in the Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District, administrators explained that they were made aware of the incident on November 9.

Two other students loading a school bus told school administrators that a fourth-grader had the gun, officials said.

“…Administrators immediately located the student and did confiscate a handgun and ammunition without incident. Fort Worth police officers were called to the campus,” the letter said.

The 9-year-old child had the gun in their backpack all day and don’t believe the child intended to use the weapon, police said.

“It seems like it was more of an opportunity to show, ‘I’m cool, look what I have, look what I did,’” Megan Overman, a spokesperson for the school district, told The Fort-Worth Star Telegram. “Rather than ... any kind of negative or dangerous intent.”

It’s not known where the child got the gun or how they were able to get it from one location to the school unnoticed, reports a local news station.

About the Author

Yvonne Marquez is senior editor of Spaces4Learning and Campus Security and Life Safety. She can be reached at [email protected]

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