(CNN) Just one day after a man reported his gun missing, it turned up -- in his grandson's backpack.

A 6-year-old child in first grade at Kids Care Elementary in Columbus, Ohio brought a loaded, semiautomatic gun to school in his backpack Wednesday, police say

The school discovered the gun when he told another student about the weapon. That student reported it to a teacher. The school, after collecting the firearm, contacted police.

Det. Dave Bucy, who works with the department's gun crimes unit, said the reason why the gun was brought to school was unknown.

"I think it was curiosity to one extent," he said at a news conference . "I think it was, 'Look what I have in my bag' to another extent."

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