An 8-year-old

Jersey City second-grader

brought a knife to school Wednesday, district officials confirmed, apparently "to stab another student."

The boy's plan was thwarted, and a possible tragedy averted, when two classmates at

School 33

who were shown the knife, quickly alerted a security guard, a mother of one of the students told

The Jersey Journal.





She said her son told her the knife-wielding student "brought the knife to school to stab another student."

Jersey City school district spokeswoman Paula Christen said she was unaware that a threat was made.

The boy with the knife has been suspended three days from the Union Street school and will spend 10 days in the district's Zero Tolerance program, Christen said. She added that the boy apparently was being bullied by another second-grader.

The classmate accused of bullying has also been suspended from school three days.

Jersey City police were not called, although that is the usual policy of the district involving students and weapons in schools, Christen said.

Since the incident involved a second-grader and the parents of both students quickly arrived at the school, police were not involved, she said.

Christen said the knife was actually a pen knife, although she did not specify how long it was. "I'm very proud of my son for telling the security guard -- something awful could have happened," said the mom of one of the second-graders who reported the knife. "He did the right thing."

Christen said the students who alerted teachers to the possible tragic situation will be given "good citizenship" awards.