Lowell man charged after 8-year-old son brings gun to school

LOWELL, Mass. — A Lowell man is facing charges after his 8-year-old son brought a handgun to school and showed it to his friends.

Police say the third grade student at Greenhalge Elementary thought the unloaded pistol was a toy when he brought it to school last Monday.

The boy told police he found it in a box that had been brought to his home by a relative who was displaced by a fire.

Parents of other students at the school say they don't know how something like this could happen.

"I don't understand how a parent would have a gun and then it's not safe enough to the point that a kid can lay hands on it and then bring it to school," Declan Fotoh, the mother of a second grade student, said.

The boy's father has turned the gun over to police. He is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and improper storage of a firearm.

In addition, parents are meeting with school administrators and police to discuss the matter on Friday.

Cox Media Group