Utah sixth grader placed .22-caliber handgun to classmate’s head after 'encouraged by his PARENTS to carry a gun after Sandy Hook’

Students said the boy told them his parents gave him the weapon to protect himself after last week's shooting

Police said the weapon was unloaded but ammunition found in his backpack



Police say an 11-year-old boy pulled a .22-caliber handgun on an elementary school classmate on Monday after his parents allegedly encouraged him to carry it for protection after last week's shooting in Connecticut.



Sixth grader Isabel Rios said that it was during morning recess at West Kearns Elementary outside of Salt Lake City that the boy placed the unloaded gun to her and her friend's head. Its ammunition was found in his backpack.



‘I told him I was going to tell, but he said, "If you tell, I'm going to kill you,"’ Isabel told KSL .

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In-school violence: Sixth grader Isabel Rios said it was during morning recess that a fellow classmate pulled a .22-caliber handgun on her and her friend, threatening to kill them both

Too close: News of the incident so soon after the Connecticut shooting left parents outraged at the incident while students say the boy said his parents encouraged him to take it

Reacting to his threat, witnessing students did not immediately notify teachers of the weapon.



It took until around 3pm before two students alerted a teacher, with a district spokesman telling Fox13 that the boy was apprehended in seconds' time.

‘Once the teacher knew there was a weapon in the classroom, the student was apprehended within 30 to 45 seconds,’ said Ben Horsley, spokesman for the Granite School District. He said police were on the scene within five to 10 minutes.



According to some parents, however, that described quick response wasn't good enough, especially after many claimed first hearing about the event on the evening news.

Armed: The weapon was unloaded at the time of the incident but police later found ammunition in the 11-year-old's book bag

Reaction: Upset parents gathered at West Kearns Elementary last night to discuss the incident, many angry that they didn't hear about the incident until watching it on the news

'I have 2 boys who go to west kearns and am horribly upset to have found out about this while watching fox 13 news this morning,' one mother responded to a letter posted on the school district's Facebook page late last night reporting the incident.





'He told other students that the gun he brought his parents gave it to him for protection because of what happened in Connecticut' - Parent of student at West Kearns Elementary

'This is not acceptable form of letting parents know the potential violence that could have happened. Perhaps a knee jerk reaction on my end, but I'm pulling my 2 kids from school until after the holidays,' she wrote mirroring similar parents' claims.



The boy was taken to juvenile hall while an investigation into the matter, as well as his parents' involvement, continues.

One unidentified parent told Fox: 'He told other students that the gun he brought his parents gave it to him for protection because of what happened in Connecticut.'

The school district says they plan to pursue criminal charges against the boy and he may not return to the school.



Friday’s shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newton left 20 children and six adults dead after a lone gunman opened fire on the school.

