Student at Pope Elementary expelled for bringing gun to school

JACKSON, TN (WNBJ)-

Officials say the nine-year showed the gun to peers during a bathroom break. The teacher was alerted, and the student was removed from the classroom. When the student was asked about the gun by school officials, he pulled it out of his coat pocket and handed it over to them.

Superintendent dr. Marlon king said, “once again we see the good decisions of one student helping to minimize the poor decisions of another. We appreciate the prompt response of those students, educators, and law enforcement officers who acted to mitigate harm.”

The student with the gun was expelled from the school and picked up by his mother and grandmother.

After an initial investigation by the Jackson police department the gun was determined to belong to the nine-year-olds mother.

Pope elementary school principal Tracy Vowell said “we are grateful to the student who reported this incident to the teacher. The teacher called me immediately. The student at issue was removed from the classroom and the officers responded to our call very quickly.”

A petition was issued today by the Jackson police department to summon the child and his parents to court later this mont.

Dr King said he will work to prevent this from ever happening again, "While we are thankful this incident ended without harm to students or faculty, we will take every effort to hold the child and his parents accountable. What happened at pope school today should not be repeated. We’re reminding all parents to be diligent in both firearm safety and with proper oversight of their children. I am working closely with judge christy little and the madison county juvenile court to hold students and their parents accountable for actions like this,”

The investigation of the incident is being handled by the Jackson police department.