The mother of a six-year-old boy has been arrested after he brought a gun to his primary school in Virginia – the latest such incident in the US state.
Police were called to Little Creek Elementary School in the city of Norfolk on Thursday afternoon, where staff gave them the handgun.
No-one was injured, but one mother says the boy threatened to shoot her daughter in class.
Last month another six-year-old shot and wounded his teacher in the state.
In the latest incident, the boy’s mother was charged on Friday with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and allowing access to a loaded firearm by children. The BBC is not naming her to protect the child’s identity.
Another mother told a local news station that the boy had brought a loaded gun to school in his backpack and threatened to shoot her daughter during physical education class on Thursday. But the woman only found out about the threat from another parent.
Her daughter did not tell her because she thought she might get in trouble. The girl told the broadcaster that after coming home from school she went to her bedroom “and tried to play but couldn’t”.
The incident echoes the case of a six-year-old boy who brought a gun to class nearby in Newport News, Virginia, on 6 January with near-fatal consequences.
He shot and seriously injured his teacher, 25-year-old Abby Zwerner, who is now suing the district that runs Richneck Elementary School.
