According to a prosecutor’s office in Arizona, a fourth-grade pupil was charged with two felonies after reportedly bringing a gun to school in August.
The 9-year-old is accused of being a minor in possession of a firearm and interfering with or disrupting an educational institution, according to the Pinal County Attorney’s Office. The minor student’s name was withheld.
The allegations are related to an incident that happened at Legacy Traditional School on August 25. According to the Queen Creek Police Department, they went to the school in response to concerns that a student was carrying a gun, NBC station KPNX reported at the time.
Queen Creek, Arizona’s Legacy Traditional School. According to KPNX Police, a different pupil had seen a classmate with a bullet the previous day. When police arrived at the school the following morning, they discovered a gun in the child’s backpack.
Despite police advice, Pinal County Attorney Kent Volkmer decided not to pursue the 9-year-parents old’s because there was “no reasonable probability of conviction.”
“Given the inherent danger involved with a gun being on a school campus, PCAO must take this seriously,” Volkmer said in Monday’s press release.
“However, it is important to appreciate that the juvenile justice system is focused on rehabilitation and correcting behaviour and that will be our focus.”
It’s unknown if the family has hired a lawyer. There was no additional information regarding representation available from the Pinal County Attorney’s office.