WEST POINT – A firearm was recovered from an elementary school student’s backpack Monday afternoon on a school bus.
West Point Consolidated School District Superintendent Jermaine Taylor said the firearm was confiscated without incident, and the student has since been suspended while the investigation is ongoing.
Taylor said the student was “upper elementary,” though he would not provide the age of the student.
The bus driver was notified of the firearm by another student and called for assistance while approaching West Point High School, Taylor said.
After arriving at the school, a school administrator and teacher boarded the bus, confiscated the student’s backpack, which contained the weapon, and escorted him inside the building where they were met by school resource officers.
“There was no malice that we can tell,” Taylor said. “I can’t say a whole lot on that because police are investigating as well, so I can’t touch on any statements that were given.”
Taylor would not disclose who the weapon belonged to or how the student obtained it, as to not “hinder (law enforcement’s) investigation.”
He also deferred to law enforcement as to whether the gun was loaded.
West Point Police Department did not return calls or messages for comment by press time.
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