A young boy brought a non-functioning firearm to Groton Elementary School.
/ Katie Corrado
GROTON -- Parents in Groton received a letter today, letting them know a boy at Groton Elementary School brought a gun to school on Friday. It was a non-functioning black powder derringer gun.
The boy kept the gun in his backpack throughout the school day, only showing glimpses of it to select classmates as they were lining up to go home. On his way home from school, he confided in a relative that he brought the weapon to school. That relative then immediately contacted the principal.
Although superintendent James Abrams does not believe the boy meant any harm, the school took the incident seriously. Emails were sent to parents Friday afternoon, and a press release about the incident was posted to the district's website. Today, all students went home with a hard copy of that press release.
What remains a mystery is how the boy gained access to the gun, which belongs to a family member. "I'd like to believe that it was accessible because it was inoperable," said Mr. Abrams. "I think that most of our folks that own guns do so very responsibly, and it would have been under lock and key. And I think that because it was inoperable, maybe that's why it was available."
Groton police are continuing to investigate the case, and school administration is taking the appropriate disciplinary action.
