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Schools

2nd-grader finds gun in backpack

Parents are told he showed the loaded weapon and pills to his teacher at 74th Street Elementary.

By ALEX LEARY
Published May 5, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - A second-grader at 74th Street Elementary was putting away his homework at the end of the schoolday when he discovered a loaded .357-caliber Magnum and two bottles of prescription pills inside his backpack.

How they got there is a "convoluted" story involving a mix-up of backpacks and an adult who may now face charges, a school official said Wednesday.

The incident occurred April 4 but was not reported to parents until they received a letter from the school on Wednesday.

"At this time, it has been determined that the person(s) responsible for placing the gun in the backpack were adults. This happened while the backpack was out of control of the student, " principal Barbara Spedding wrote in a letter delivered Wednesday.

"We are now visiting in every classroom to talk to the children about the danger of guns as well as other weapons and the appropriate actions to follow should they come across them," it adds.

School officials say the second-grader did the right thing by immediately showing his teacher the gun and drugs. School police were called that day and St. Petersburg police were asked to assist the following day.

"I think we were very fortunate," Pinellas schools spokesman Ron Stone said. "It could have happened on the way to the bus, on the way to school."

The case has been turned over to the State Attorney's Office, though details of its status were unavailable Wednesday.

Here's how school officials think the gun got in the bag:

On the Friday before the incident, the second-grader and a kindergartener rode the bus home and accidentally swapped backpacks.

When the second-grader returned to school on Monday, he pointed out the mix-up and his bag was returned to him.

He hung it on a hook without opening it and went about the school day.

As the schoolday ended, the second-grader put his homework in the backpack and found the gun and two bottles of prescription drugs.

"The assumption would be whatever was put in was put in over the weekend," Stone said.

Spedding's letter implies she was told not to immediately report the incident to parents.

"I have, at last, been given clearance by the police departments involved to communicate to you the resolution," she wrote.

At least one parent called the school to complain about the delay.

Spedding could not be reached at school late Wednesday and did not return messages left at home.

Stone cited an apparent misunderstanding. School police were concerned that notifying parents might tip off a suspect, he said. "They didn't actually say don't send anything out," Stone said.

Last school year, the district had 307 cases in which school personnel reported weapons. Of those, 89 were in elementary schools, up from 74 the previous year.

Times staff writer Thomas C. Tobin contributed to this report.

[Last modified May 5, 2005, 01:26:13]