Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
LA JOYA , Texas (AP) — The mother of a 4-year-old pre-kindergarten student who took a loaded gun in his backpack to a South Texas elementary school has been charged by authorities.
The Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office has charged the woman with making a firearm accessible to a child — a class C misdemeanor punishable by up to a $500 fine.
Officials with the La Joya (luh HOH'-yuh) Independent School District say a teacher at Rosendo Benavides Elementary School in Sullivan City confiscated the weapon Thursday and kept it safe until police arrived.
Hidalgo County sheriff's spokesperson J.P. Rodriguez says the boy's parents legally owned the pistol but had not properly secured it.
La Joya school district spokesman Eden Ramirez said officials have not decided what disciplinary action might be taken against the boy.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.