A school went into temporary lockdown after a seven-year-old boy was found to have a handgun in his bag.
The Wave Preparatory Elementary School in New York was re-opened after 'less than an hour' police later said, and no one was hurt. They did not comment as to why the little boy had the .22 calibre handgun with him, but said it had not been fired.
The New York Times reports that a magazine, separated from the pistol but loaded with 10 bullets, and a plastic bag with 7 to 10 additional rounds of ammunition were also found in the boy's backpack, and that parents and pupils were left 'rattled' by the incident.
"I thought we were going to get killed," said 11-year-old pupil Javier Ferrufino. "We went to the back of the classroom. I hid with my friend behind some computers."
This week, President Obama revealed new proposals to tighten gun laws in the US. The BBC reports this will include a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and gun buyers will have more thorough background checks.