What to Know
- Police arrested a man accused of placing a loaded handgun inside a 7-year-old child's backpack.
- The child unknowingly brought the gun to Atlantic Community Charter School. No one was hurt during the incident.
- Lamar Williamson was arrested Wednesday and charged with endangering the welfare of children and other related offenses.
Police arrested a man who allegedly placed a loaded gun inside the backpack of a 7-year-old child who unknowingly brought the weapon to a school in Galloway Township, New Jersey.
On Thursday, shortly after 3 p.m., a 1st grade student at the Atlantic Community Charter School found a loaded Taurus 9mm handgun inside their backpack. The child notified school staff who contacted Galloway Township Police.
Responding officers secured the weapon and brought the child to police headquarters. The New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency was contacted and an investigation was launched. No one was injured during the incident.
Investigators determined a man, identified as Lamar Keith Williamson, 33, of Atlantic City, had placed the gun in the child's backpack. Williamson is a relative of the child and was staying with the child’s family in Atlantic City, police said.
After a warrant was issued, Williamson was arrested on the 6000 block of Hoover Drive in Mays Landing, New Jersey, Wednesday, around 4:30 p.m. He is charged with endangering the welfare of children, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon by a prohibited person (convicted felon).
