Boston boy, 7, brings loaded gun to school sparking police probe

Boston Police were called to Up Academy Holland School on Thursday afternoon after a child, aged seven, brought a loaded semi-automatic gun to class. The gun was safely retrieved and no one was hurt in the incident. Police responded to the call from the school at around 3.33pm in the Dorchester neighbourhood.It is currently unknown how the child got ahold of the weapon and if they will face any disciplinary action.In a statement on Facebook, the Boston Police Department said: ‘The Boston Police Department is focused on the proliferation of guns in our City and keeping access to them away from the youngest among us needs to be a priority for everyone.’We are grateful to Superintendent Mary Skipper and the Boston Public Schools for working with us to keep a safe school environment for the kids in our City.’ Police are investigating after a seven-year-old student brought a loaded gun to an elementary school (Image: Getty Images)Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper said in a statement: ‘I’m speechless. I don’t have the words. This is truly devastating,””We have to ask ourselves how a very young student becomes in possession of and gains access to a firearm.Ms Skipper also assured parents that she is working with the city and state every day to improve student safety.She said: “We’re working with all of our city and state partners every day, multiple times a day, to address safety concerns, strategise new tactics to keep students safe, and create synergy in our responses to emergencies”We’re grateful to BPD and first responders who were on the scene immediately. But we cannot do this work alone. When a young person gets access to a gun out of accessibility, we really have to ask ourselves, how does this happen?’READ MORE: Russia ‘practiced destroying US and Great Britain’ in strike drills Police responded to the call from the school at around 3:33pm (Image: Getty Images)Local authorities, including the Boston Police Department and Boston Police School Unit, are examining how a child turned up to class with a weapon.Mayor Michelle Wu of Boston said the school and local authorities should be praised for their ‘swift action and coordination’ in discovering and safely responding to the incident.She said: “The person responsible for allowing access to this weapon is going to be held accountable.”No child should be near a weapon, much less directly endangered at such a young age.”DON’T MISS: Elon Musk completes $44billion deal to take control of Twitter [REPORT]Putin hails ‘close friend’ Xi and supports claim to Taiwan [REVEAL]Cuban Missile Crisis – Putin and the return to the ‘unimaginable’ [INSIGHT] The Superintendent said: ‘I’m speechless. I don’t have the words. This is truly devastating,” (Image: Getty Images)Local Boston City Councillor Erin Murphy has said officials are currently working to discover how long the child was carrying a weapon in their backpack.She expressed concern at the incident and said she wants to discover the motive behind a child bringing a gun to school, and if a parent placed the weapon in the backpack.Ms Murphy said: ‘Finding out a child as young as seven, loaded gun in his bag is really – it’s scary.”It’s scary for him, the child, knowing he’s exposed to that, and just for his classmates, his teacher.”