One adult has been charged, after an eight-year-old brought a loaded gun to Stocking Elementary School last month.
The incident happened May 10. A scholar warned Grand Rapids Public Schools staff that a student may be in possession of a gun. Staff found the firearm in the student’s backpack and confiscated it immediately, turning it over to the Grand Rapids Police Department.
An adult in the home has been charged with Felony Firearm and Child Abuse, 4th Degree. Grand Rapids Police Department is withholding the suspect’s name at this time.
The GRPD investigation, like that of a similar incident that occurred just one week prior at Cesar E. Chavez Elementary School, focused on the student’s home situation that allowed access to a loaded weapon.
“These charges are the direct result of GRPD’s efforts to combat gun violence in our community,” said Chief Eric Winstrom. “This could have had a very tragic outcome if another student and GRPS staff hadn’t acted so quickly. GRPD is committed to holding people accountable, but we can’t do it alone. As a community, we have a responsibility to our children, and to each other, to keep guns out of the hands of kids and to keep illegally possessed guns off our streets.”
