Kindergartners found loaded gun near school while on a nature walk, NC sheriff says
A class of kindergartners found a loaded handgun while on a nature walk near their North Carolina school Tuesday, authorities said.
The children at Poplin Elementary School in Union County did not touch the gun and immediately notified their teacher, who also was on the walk, according to the sheriff’s office. The gun was in woods near the school bus parking lot.
The teacher immediately alerted a Union County deputy assigned as a school resource officer. The deputy secured the scene until crime scene investigators arrived and took the gun, according to a news release.
The gun was not reported stolen, and sheriff’s detectives are trying to determine its owner, investigators said in the release.
Sheriff’s officers said the firearm is possibly related to a recent property crime near the school, but provided no further details.
The children were checking on bluebird boxes while on the walk, according to the release.