December 18, 2012

An 11-year-old student may face charges after he said his parents encouraged him to bring a gun to school for protection.

Fox Salt Lake City reports that the boy said his parents' suggestion came after the devastating Sandy Hook Elementary shooting on Friday.

The student allegedly pulled the .22-caliber pistol out of his backpack during recess Monday morning and pointed it at one of his classmates.

"He pulled out a gun and he put it to my head — me and my friend — (and) said he was going to kill us," Isabelle Rios told KSL. "I told him I was going to tell, but he said, ‘If you tell, I'm going to kill you.'"

Teachers were made aware of the situation and disarmed the student within seconds, then called police. The suspect's name wasn't released.

A spokesperson for the Granite School District said his office will investigate and look into criminal charges against the 11-year-old.

Think Progress reports that conservative advocates of looser gun restrictions have been arguing for more guns in schools to prevent tragedies like Sandy Hook. Their proposals include allowing teachers to bring guns to class.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/18/student-brings-gun-to-scho...