Staff member found loaded handgun in student's backpack at Mullenix Ridge Elementary
A child of a Kitsap County Sheriff's Office employee unintentionally brought a loaded handgun to school, Mullenix Ridge Elementary, in a backpack and the weapon was discovered by a school staff member while retrieving a different item from the student's backpack. No direct threats or harm were reported and the weapon was given to law enforcement.
The student brought the weapon "unintentionally" and a staff member saw the gun when looking into the backpack, according to an email by South Kitsap School District's superintendent Tim Winter to South Kitsap families and staff members Friday afternoon.
The district's safety, security and emergency management director contacted law enforcement and they took possession of the weapon, Winter said.
There was no direct threat during the incident, according to an email sent by the Mullenix principal, Barbara Pixton, to parents and staff members. The grade of the student was not identified. It also stated that disciplinary measures have been taken in cooperation with the student’s family.
The student is the child of a Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office employee, the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office said in a statement released Friday evening.
"We are not going to identify the employee at this time and will be asking Washington State Patrol to do the investigation," said Sgt. Ken Dickinson, a spokesperson for the office.
A Preliminary investigation indicates that the student’s caregiver may have accidentally given the student the wrong backpack and that neither the caregiver nor the child was aware that a handgun was inside, KCSO said in the statement.
Washington State Patrol will be the lead investigating agency of the case and KCSO will initiate its own internal investigation into the incident once the state patrol's investigation is complete, according to KSCO.
"While no one was harmed during this incident and no threats were made, this is a reminder to everyone of the importance of securing items in the household," Pixton said.
"Safety is a top priority in South Kitsap School District. We value the support of our families as we carry the responsibility to educate and keep our students safe," Winter said in the email.
The principal said in the email that the school wanted to ensure parents are informed of the incident, especially with the events that have taken place recently in other school communities.
It was just more than a decade ago, in February 2012, when 8-year-old Amina Kocer-Bowman was shot and severely injured after a student at Armin Jahr Elementary in Bremerton brought a handgun to school in a backpack and the pistol discharged in their third-grade classroom.
That student had taken a gun that was left unsecured by his mother's boyfriend. In 2014 the Bremerton School District and the insurance company of the gun's owner, Douglas Bauer, settled a lawsuit with the family for $1.2 million.
Just more than a week ago, a 15-year-old boy was arrested at Klahowya Secondary School after the school's resource officer found him in the school parking lot with a handgun.
Reach breaking news reporter Peiyu Lin at pei-yu.lin@kitsapsun.com or on Twitter @peiyulintw.
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This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Student found with gun in backpack at Port Orchard's Mullenix Ridge school
