HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Two fifth graders were charged Wednesday after they were caught with a BB gun and a small amount of marijuana at Central City Elementary School, Huntington Police Chief Hank Dial said.
A teacher at the school was tipped off that the students had the items. She found them and secured them without incident, Dial said.
“We responded down and took the illegal drugs and BB gun and the kids into custody. We’ll be charging them,” Dial said.
The BB gun looked like a real handgun, according to Dial.
“It looked like a revolver. It definitely looked like a handgun when the teacher saw it. It felt like a handgun but was a BB gun,” he said. “This was absolutely disturbing. You don’t want to hear of any kids of having guns particularly at elementary schools.”
The firearm was found in a 10-year-old student’s backpack. Officers found 1.56 grams of marijuana in an 11-year-old student’s desk.
The 10-year-old is charged with possessing a firearm in a school facility and the 11-year-old with possession of a controlled substance.
Dial said they’ll try to find out how the students got the items.
“We’ll do a thorough investigation, our detectives will work on this. We’ll work with prosecutors and decide what needs to be done to avoid this from happening again,” Dial said.
Dial said the school staff did an excellent job in its response.