4th-grade student found with gun at Queen Creek charter school

QUEEN CREEK, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) — Police are investigating after a fourth-grade student reportedly brought a gun to school Thursday morning in Queen Creek.

Around 8:20 a.m., staff at Legacy Traditional School called police, and when officers arrived, the child had already been moved to a secure area away from other students. School officials say the student never pulled out the gun, which was later found in their backpack.

However, the buildup for the incident started on Wednesday. Another student reportedly noticed something suspicious and told their parents. The parents contacted school staff, who confronted the student on Thursday.

Several students said they were afraid after hearing the news. “My teacher’s told me it was all going to be fine. I thought we were all going to die in that moment,” said third-grader Jared Arizmendi.

Parents received a letter home, which said school officials worked quickly to get the student away from others, and was detained by police. However, some parents say the sense of urgency wasn’t relayed to them. “I feel like we were getting looked at like we’re being too emotional you know? And my daughter is five years old, she’s one month into her first school she’s in. And there’s a kid with a gun. Why is there a calmness up there?” said parent Michael Huff.

Huff says he understands the school and officers needed to investigate what happened before letting families know. However, after the Uvalde, Texas shooting, he says many parents shouldn’t be punished for worrying about their kids. “With the parents, with the school system, we all need to talk. And figure out why this is happening. Why are our kids dying? Why do we have to be scared to send kids to school?” he said.

The school released a statement, saying they are fully cooperating with police and that the student is prohibited from entering campus. No one was hurt.

Copyright 2022 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.