A Second-Grader Brought a Loaded Glock to School Today

The unnerving incident unfolded at Grover Cleveland Mastery Charter in Tioga.

iStockphoto.com | RonBailey

iStockphoto.com | RonBailey

A second grade student at Grover Cleveland Mastery Charter found a surprise in his book bag when he got to school this morning: a fully-loaded Glock.

A police source told Philadelphia magazine that a relative allegedly stuck the weapon in the little boy’s bag for reasons that are thus far unclear. The child didn’t realize the weapon was lurking in his school bag until he got into his classroom. 

Luckily — no, amazingly — no one was injured. There are any number of ways a loaded weapon in a classroom filled with curious children could lead to tragedy.

Scott Gordon, Mastery’s CEO, said a letter was sent home to parents this afternoon about the unnerving incident. “Thank God the child knew to tell the teacher, and the teacher knew what to do,” he said. The teacher immediately removed the gun from the classroom, and the school notified police.

The elementary school, located on 19th Street near Carey in the Tioga section of North Philly, doesn’t have a metal detector. But maybe 7- and 8-year-olds should be able to go to school every day without worrying about encountering anything more dangerous than a stapler in their classrooms.

“This is not something that any second grader should have to deal with,” Gordon said.

Police are still investigating the incident.

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