GENEVA, Fla. – An 8-year-old student headed to Geneva Elementary School was found Thursday morning with a loaded gun on a school bus, according to Seminole County Public Schools.
[READ: Principal's letter to parents]
SCPS spokesman Michael Lawrence said students saw the gun, described as a .45-caliber handgun with a bullet in the chamber, and alerted the bus monitor around 8 a.m.
The driver of the bus, which had nine students on board, pulled over and the gun was found holstered in a third-grader's backpack, Lawrence said.
Deputies were contacted and they seized the gun, according to Lawrence.
Seminole County deputies said there was no evidence that the student intended to bully or threaten anyone with the gun.
"This is an 8-year-old (who) was fascinated with idea of guns," said a deputy, adding that the boy only wanted to show off the gun to classmates.
The student was taken to the juvenile assessment center, but formal charges are not likely, said deputies, who described the child as remorseful. Deputies said the child will be released to his parents. Officials were looking into whether the parents could face charges.
"What could have been dangerous situation had a happy ending," a Seminole County sheriff's deputy said.
"We are extremely thankful for the swift actions of our students and bus staff that helped diffuse a possible disastrous situation," Geneva Elementary School Principal Rod T. Dunaye said. "Both the student and parents will be questioned and the appropriate level of disciplinary action will occur."
Deputies have scheduled a 3 p.m. news conference to discuss the incident.
No one was injured.
Geneva Elementary School is located at 275 First Street.
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