Ciara Armstead and Terrence Carroll Jr, Virginia parents charged after 3rd grade son brings parents’ unsecured gun from home in his backpack only for the weapon to go off while reaching for a snack during class full of kids at Lee Hill Elementary School in Spotsylvania.
The parents of a 3rd grade boy have been arrested after a handgun he had placed in his backpack went off during class at a Virginia school on Monday according to police.
Ciara Armstead, 36, and Terrence Carroll Jr., 34, were arrested hours after a gun their son had found at the family home accidentally going off after the boy inadvertently bringing the weapon to school in backpack. At the time of the incident there were more than a two dozen students at Lee Hill Elementary School in Spotsylvania at 10:50 a.m. Monday, according to the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office.
Virginia parents charged after third grader son brings gun to school
Cops said the boy had found the ‘unsecured’ weapon at home and put it into his backpack along with his school books, police said. No one was hurt at the time of the incident, cops said.
At some point during class, the couple’s son ‘inadvertently’ pulled the trigger while retrieving something from his bag — causing the teacher to immediately evacuate all 26 students and notify the school resources officer, according to the sheriff’s office.
‘I apparently was snack time so he was reaching into his back pack and inadvertently pulled the trigger on the handgun,’ said Liz Scott, major with the sheriff’s office.
‘I wish it had never happened,’ said Wendy Latella, president of the PTO and parent of a 4th grader told WJLA. ‘The sheriff is taking steps and hopefully we can move forward and heal.’
‘Kids are so curious,’ Latella said. ‘They play video games, they may not think it’s real maybe they think it’s a toy in their mind, they don’t, so responsible gun owners need to lock it up and be safe.’
A preliminary investigation found the elementary student had no intention of harming anyone, police said. The child who brought the gun is not being charged, said SCSO.
The boy’s parents — who police said are cooperating — were each charged with child endangerment and unsecured weapons charges.
They were each released on a $5,000 bond and will appear in court next Friday for arraignment.
