CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — JFK Elementary in West Oso ISD went into lockdown Wednesday morning around 9 a.m. after school officials were notified that a four-year-old student was in possession of a loaded handgun on campus.
An off-duty Corpus Christi police officer immediately took possession of and secured the weapon, according to a statement from the CCPD.
“Being four years old, bringing a gun to school, certainly has us all concerned," West Oso ISD Superintendent Conrado Garcia said.
West Oso ISD sent a letter to parents about the incident.
"While the district does not believe that students and staff were in any kind of imminent danger, as a precaution the campus had increased police presence and maintained a higher level of security at the school until the Corpus Christi Police Department provided an 'all clear' at 10:30 am," the statement said.
Garcia said he is proud of the swift response and implementation of district safety procedures by the teachers, administrators, and officers.
30-year-old Paul Torres was arrested and charged with Making Firearm Accessible to Children and was additionally charged with Abandoning or Endangering a Child, according to the blotter page.
"This was strictly an adult issue and it's a shame that the adults put their own child at risk from getting hurt and everyone else," Garcia said.
Garcia also said Wednesday's incident could have been prevented if the parents were more responsible.
"Lock them up, put them away, out of the reach of children," Garcia said. "There’s no excuse, none. If there are families listening to me right now, what I just said, make it a priority to put your weapons away."
CCPD said that they want to remind residents to properly secure their firearms locked away and keep their keys away from children.
"We want to educate our children to make sure that, gun safety, that the dangers of weapons in general, to never touch a handgun in general," Senior Officer Gena Pena said. "If they believe it might be a toy, you always want to notify an adult in the area if they come across something that appears to be a handgun.”
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