9-year-old faces felony charges after taking loaded gun to school, AZ officials say

A 9-year-old child found with a loaded firearm at a Queen Creek K-8 school in August will be tried on two felony charges, Arizona prosecutors said.

The Pinal County Attorney’s Office cited “the inherent danger involved with a gun being on a school campus” in a Monday, Nov. 7, statement to McClatchy News.

“However, it is important to appreciate that the juvenile justice system is focused on rehabilitation and correcting behavior and that will be our focus,” County Attorney Kent Volkmer said in the statement.

The 9-year-old faces charges of being a minor in possession of a firearm and interference with or disruption of an educational institution, both felonies.

The child’s parents will not be charged. Prosecutors said in the statement there was “no reasonable likelihood of conviction” for a crime.

Police confiscated a firearm with a magazine loaded with 16 rounds at Legacy Traditional Academy in Queen Creek on Aug. 25, KNXV reported.

A parent had called authorities after their child reported seeing the 9-year-old with a bullet the day before, The Arizona Republic reported.

The child told police they brought the firearm to school out of fear of kids “bigger and older than him on his way to school,” KNXV reported.

Officials did not identify the child.

Queen Creek is a town of 66,000 people about 35 miles southeast of Phoenix.

This story was originally published November 8, 2022 at 11:35 AM with the headline "9-year-old faces felony charges after taking loaded gun to school, AZ officials say."