First-grader finds gun in backpack at Oakland elementary school

A first-grader at Prescott Elementary School in West Oakland unknowingly brought a gun to school in a backpack Tuesday morning, a district spokesman said.

A teacher and the student noticed the weapon at about 8:45 a.m. when the student opened the backpack and began taking out its contents, Oakland Unified School District spokesman Troy Flint said.

""The student wasn't aware it was in there,"" Flint said.

It was not immediately clear where the gun came from or whether it was loaded, he said. Flint did not know what type of firearm it was.

Campus police were called to the classroom to remove the gun and investigate its origin. The student probably will not be punished, Flint said.

School officials plan to hold information sessions for Prescott students about guns and violence in the wake of the discovery, he added.

Members of the school district's police force probably will join the school's violence counselor to do classroom visits, Flint said.

""Generally, that's how these things are conducted,"" he said.

It's rare but not unprecedented for a gun to be discovered on an elementary school campus in the district, according to Flint. He said there have been a handful of similar incidents in recent years, but none at Prescott Elementary, 920 Campbell St.