A fourth-grade student was charged with two felonies after allegedly bringing a firearm to school in August, an Arizona prosecutor’s office announced Monday.
The 9-year-old child has been charged with one count of a minor in possession of a firearm and one count of interfering with or disrupting an educational institution, the Pinal County Attorney’s Office said. The student, a minor, was not identified.
The charges stem from an August 25 incident at the Legacy Traditional School. Queen Creek Police Department said they were responding to the school after reports that a student had a firearm. NBC affiliate KPNX reported this at the time.
Police said another student had seen a classmate with a bullet the day before, and officers found a gun in the child’s backpack when they arrived at school the next morning, KPNX said.
Pinal County Attorney Kent Volkmer declined to press charges against the 9-year-old’s parents, despite police recommendations, saying there was “no reasonable chance of conviction.”
“Given the inherent danger that a gun poses on a school campus, PCAO should take this seriously,” Volkmer said in Monday’s press release.
“However, it is important to realize that juvenile justice is focused on rehabilitation and behavior correction and that will be our focus.”
It is unclear whether the family has engaged a lawyer. The Pinal County Attorney’s office had no additional information regarding representation.