A 7-year-old student was injured Wednesday when a firearm accidentally discharged inside a classroom at Freetown Elementary School in Maryland, according to authorities.
According to the Anne Arundel County Police Department, the second-grade student who was holding the firearm hurt his hand when it discharged.
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Other students were in the classroom, but no further injuries were reported.
Anne Arundel County Public Schools announced on X that it is working with police and providing support with support services in the aftermath of the incident.
“The school will dismiss all students at 11:15 a.m. today. Bus riders will be transported home via the normal routes. If you need to make alternate arrangements for your student, please call the school. We will provide additional information as we get it,” the district said Wednesday.
WBAL-TV 11 stated that the student had a non-life-threatening injury and was taken to the hospital.
“A student had a firearm in his possession, a second-grade student, in a classroom. That firearm discharged at a certain point,” Anne Arundel County police spokesman Justin Mulcahy told the outlet.
Mulcahy said officers responded to reports of shots fired at 8:30 a.m. and arrived at the school within six minutes.
Police said the teacher acted quickly to confiscate the firearm and treat the injured student.
“A 7-year-old child gained access to a firearm, discharged it in a school, a classroom filled with children. We should not be having this press conference with you right now,” Anne Arundel County Police Chief Amal Awad told WBAL-TV 11. “How did a 7-year-old baby get ahold of a firearm and make it all the way to school?”
Superintendent Mark Bedell of Anne Arundel County Public Schools made the decision to discharge students early due to the significant trauma.
“Not only within the students who were in this building, but also the faculty and staff,” Bedell said. “I can assure you that my reaction would have been exactly what these parents were reacting, filled with a boatload of fear.”
The school official said Freetown Elementary would be open on Thursday as scheduled.
