It was unclear how the gun was fired. Palmer said the student was either setting the bag down or reaching into the bag when it fired. The gun was not pointed at anyone and the student was not “displaying” it, Palmer said.

The school immediately called the parents of students who were in the class when the gun fired, Craner said. Other parents were notified about 2 p.m. by an automated phone message from Superintendent Wiley Dobbs.

The area of the school where the gun was fired was evacuated, but police directed the school not to lock down, Craner said.

“(Police) determined that the situation had been contained and there was no continuing threat to students,” she said.

Many of the school’s 1,000 students were off campus participating in a community clean-up project. Others who were at the school had no idea anything was awry.

“Parents may have known before some students,” Craner said in a phone interview. “We do have a safety protocol and it was followed. All of the safety procedures worked very well.”