Gun Goes Off in Elementary School Classroom, Not a Repeat

Before we get started with this post, yes, I am aware of the shooting that took place at a Dallas, Texas, High School today. I prefer to give stories like that 24 hours for all the details to settle before I post it. That way, I won’t be posting misinformation.

Now, on to today’s story…

***

Another elementary school. Another 9-year-old. Another gun that should have never been in a child’s reach.

Last Thursday morning, a loaded handgun went off inside a classroom at Billingsley Elementary School in Charles County, Maryland. No one was hurt, but that’s not the same as saying everyone was safe. When a bullet leaves a chamber in a room full of children, luck alone decides the outcome.

The student had their backpack on their lap, digging through it for a piece of paper when the gun went off. The round went into the floor. According to officials, the child told investigators they had no intention of harming anyone. That might be true, but it doesn’t erase the danger, and it doesn’t answer the bigger question: How the hell did a 9-year-old get their hands on a loaded gun?

This is the second time in just one week that an elementary schooler in the Washington, D.C., area has brought a gun to class and had it discharge. In the first case, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, police arrested both parents and charged them with recklessly leaving a loaded firearm accessible to a child. In that case, the gun was reportedly left unsecured in the home. We don’t yet know if anyone in Charles County will face consequences, but we should be asking why not.

Police say the gun in this case belonged to a visiting relative. So, what now? Do we start patting down every uncle, cousin, or grandparent before they cross the threshold? Or do we finally admit that if you can’t keep your weapon locked up and away from kids, you don’t deserve to own one?

Was this just carelessness? Or is it something darker? Is it some ‘responsible gun owner™‘ who keeps a loaded gun out in the open because they’re dreaming of a confrontation? Someone who thinks they’ll be the hero in their own hallway shootout? Because that’s not just irresponsible. That’s a dangerous delusion.

A school resource officer quickly recovered the weapon and the school dismissed early. Families got a letter. Students got a day off. Counselors will be available. That’s the protocol. That’s the clean-up, but it’s not prevention.

We can’t keep calling these ‘accidents’ when adults are the ones leaving guns where children can grab them. A third-grader shouldn’t have to understand how a trigger works. A fourth-grader shouldn’t have to pray the bullet goes into the floor.

And no parent should ever get a message from school saying a gun went off in their child’s classroom. Not ever.

(Sources)