Middle school placed on lockdown after gun fired in classroom near downtown San Antonio

Miriam Ayala hugs her nephew Jose Preciadio, Wednesday Sept. 24, 2014, outside Harris Middle school after Jose's mother, Susan Martinez picked up him u from school. Earlier in the day a student brought a gun to school and it accidentally discharged. No one was hurt in the incident. less Miriam Ayala hugs her nephew Jose Preciadio, Wednesday Sept. 24, 2014, outside Harris Middle school after Jose's mother, Susan Martinez picked up him u from school. Earlier in the day a student brought a gun to ... more Photo: William Luther, San Antonio Express-News Photo: William Luther, San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close Middle school placed on lockdown after gun fired in classroom near downtown San Antonio 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

SAN ANTONIO — A handgun that accidentally went off in a middle school classroom Wednesday morning was loaded with blanks, not bullets, San Antonio Independent School District officials said.

SAISD police secured the gun and took the Harris Middle School seventh grader into custody, district spokeswoman Leslie Price said. The 12-year-old boy had brought the weapon to the school in a backpack and it discharged once around 10:30 a.m. as he placed the backpack on a table, she said.

The district released a statement stressing that nobody was injured and kept the school locked down until shortly after noon while police investigated, drawing an anxious crowd of about 100 waiting parents who had been notified by an automated phone messaging system. Later in the afternoon, it confirmed the gun held blanks.

By evening, the district said the boy had obtained the .22 caliber handgun earlier Wednesday from another boy, 14, also a student there. Both were detained and charged with possession of a firearm on a school campus.

"The 14-year-old asked him to hold it for him, and he did by placing it in his backpack," Price said in an emailed statement.

"Everyone is safe," Price said, adding that parents were notified by phone.

Some parents gathered at the school's football field.

One mother of a student said she had received the automated message but that there were few details.

"They're not telling the parents nothing," said the mother, who asked not to be identified.

One woman, when asked by a resident who lives near the school if she left work to come to the school, replied, "Yeah! My son's in there!"

Officials did not immediately release what grade the student is in. The student is in SAISD custody and could face disciplinary action.

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