A gun in a bookbag discharged in an elementary school classroom Monday and the second-grader who brought it was shot in the hand, police said.
The injury to the 7-year-old was not believed to be life-threatening. Police were uncertain why the gun went off.
“It happened in the classroom, just as they were taking their coats off,” police Sgt. David Sicilian said.
Columbus schools did not cancel classes, but some parents took their children from Leawood Elementary School. There were 15 children in class when the .45-caliber pistol gun went off, Sicilian said.
The boy’s mother “indicated she had no idea where the weapon came from,” Sicilian said.
The child was taken to Children’s Hospital, but the mother would not authorize the release of any information about his condition, said Amy Ranalli, a hospital spokeswoman.
Kim Bell, 46, standing outside of the school with her fourth-grade son, said teachers tried to keep the shooting quiet so not to scare the other children.
“It’s a very good school, very good teachers,” she said. “It’s not a school a kid would bring a gun to.”