A 74-year-old former substitute teacher whose gun discharged in a first-grade classroom earlier this year has been convicted of several misdemeanor crimes.

Henry Rex Weaver was convicted Monday of possession of a firearm in a prohibited place, reckless endangerment, and third-degree assault.

The incident happened March 22 at Blountsville Elementary School. One student was struck by a fragment and checked out by the school nurse.

According to an affidavit in the misdemeanor criminal cases against Weaver this is what happened inside the elementary school classroom: Weaver had a Taurus .380 pistol and a knife in his front right pocket. He bent over to pick up an item off the floor and when he straightened back up, the knife, a clip-on, entered the trigger guard of the pistol and caused it to discharge into the floor.

A fragment struck a 7-year-old boy in the leg. There was a welt on the boy’s leg, records state, but the fragment did not penetrate the skin.

“I’m so sorry it happened, and I hope those kids have no memory of it after time passes,’’ Weaver told AL.com days after the incident.

Weaver said he had put his pistol up for several days because his permit had expired. He renewed his permit on Thursday and left for school Friday morning with the intention of storing the gun under the armrest of his locked vehicle.

He took a quick phone call as he was about to go into the school – he had to be there at 7:20 a.m. – and was running slightly behind schedule when he got out of the car. “I completely forgot about the pistol being in my pocket,’’ Weaver said.

During trial, witnesses testified Weaver went to work that morning with a .380 caliber handgun in his front pocket. Shortly after noon that day, Weaver was reaching for some papers and his handgun discharged.

A representative of the Blount County School Board testified at trial regarding the Board’s firearm policies and testified that Weaver did not have permission to bring his firearm to school.

The school principal testified about the training and security measures implemented to protect students in the event of an incident like this and the faculty’s response to the incident. The school nurse also testified about the treatment the student received for her injuries.

Weaver was fined $100 per conviction plus costs. He has to surrender his pistol permit and can no longer substitute.

“This should not have happened. Board policy strictly limits possession of firearms on school grounds to authorized personnel. This is why,’’ said prosecutor Scott Gilliland. “Nonetheless, the school administration made our job easy. They had a plan in place, and they followed their plan to secure the facility and protect the students from further injury.”

Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey commended the school’s administration for their preparation and response to this incident.

“It is important for our businesses, churches, and schools to implement emergency response plans and train their personnel how to execute those plans,’’ Casey said. “Plan. Prepare. And Execute the Plan.”