Third-grader charged after stolen gun goes off in classroom during story time

A third-grader at Lakeview Academy in Milledgeville faces juvenile charges after a gun in his backpack discharged Friday morning inside the classroom, a sheriff’s official says.

No one was hurt.

The 8-year-old boy was released to the custody of his mother on ankle monitoring on the advice of the Department of Juvenile Justice based on his age, said Baldwin County sheriff’s Maj. Scott Deason.

The boy faces charges in Juvenile Court of carrying a weapon in a school safety zone, reckless conduct, disrupting a public school and possession of a pistol by a person under the age of 18, Deason said.

The boy had arrived to school late and had a late pass.

“Everybody else was at the front of the room sitting on the carpet while the teacher was reading a story,” Deason said. “He was sitting in the back of the room by himself at his desk getting something out of his bookbag, moving some things around, and the gun discharged into the floor.”

School personnel notified authorities. A sheriff’s school resource officer, Lt. Gale Hollis, responded to the 8:26 a.m. call, secured the weapon and stayed with the boy. His classmates were moved to another room.

The bullet fragment was removed by authorities from the tile floor of the classroom.

The boy told sheriff’s deputies that he did not know how the 9 millimeter handgun got into his bookbag, Deason said.

The gun was reported stolen in a burglary last month in Baldwin County, with authorities investigating how the boy came into contact with the gun.

The school for grades three through five was not placed on lock down, said Byron Wellman, school and community relations coordinator.

“Everyone is continuing with normal operations. The student has been removed and is subject to the necessary law enforcement activity to go with it,” Wellman said.

Two weeks ago, another Baldwin County student, a fifth grader at Midway Hills Academy in Milledgeville, was arrested after a .25-caliber pistol was found in his backpack and confiscated.

The gun was not loaded, and the 12-year-old did not have ammunition. The boy told authorities that the gun belonged to a friend of his older brother who had been staying with his family.

The boy was charged with possession of a firearm within a school safety zone and disrupting a public school, according to a Baldwin County sheriff’s report.

This story was originally published November 10, 2017 at 12:51 PM with the headline "Third-grader charged after stolen gun goes off in classroom during story time."