8-year-old boy brings loaded gun to Brooklyn elementary school

CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn (WABC) -- An 8-year-old boy brought a loaded gun to his Brooklyn elementary school Friday.

NYPD officers were called to P.S. 91 on Albany Avenue in Crown Heights just before noon.

Google Street View of the school:

The weapon was confiscated, and the student is being questioned. No injuries were reported.

"We are working closely with the NYPD as they investigate this deeply troubling incident," the Department of Education said in a statement. "Nothing is more important than the safety of all students and staff, and there is zero tolerance for weapons of any kind. NYPD swiftly responded and confiscated the weapon, students and staff are safe, and no injuries were sustained."

Parents were outraged to learn the news.

"I don't know who that little boy is, but like I said, anything could have happened," one parent said. "That gun could've hit an (expletive) child. That's not right."

Authorities say the boy had the gun in his backpack, and when the students were outside to celebrate "Spirit Day," he was told to sit on top of his bag. But he refused, prompting a search that uncovered the weapon.

It is the sixth time authorities have confiscated a firearm inside a city school since March, and school safety agents say it's time to broaden the conversation.

"Talk to your child," said Gregory Floyd, president of Teamsters Local 237. "If your child is having a dispute with another child, there should be something in place in the schools that they can just reconcile these issues without resulting in bringing weapons to school."

Authorities believe the boy was having a dispute with another child, and they suspect his teenage brother had something to do with this incident.

Meanwhile, some parents say a note sent home in their children's backpacks was not enough. Some got bits and pieces by word of mouth, and they figured they'd act first to get answers.

"From the time I heard that, I just flew here from my job," parent Shawn Thomas said.

"I'm asking everybody what's going on," caregiver Wanda Gregory said. "I'm in the main office, 'What's going on?' 'I don't know, I don't know.'"

"They told me at first nothing happened," parent Muneer Nashal said. "But it seems like something happened. They're just trying to cover it up or something."