Boy, 8, Brings Gun to West Philly School, It Fires in Schoolyard, Police Say

A gun brought by an 8-year-old boy to a West Philadelphia charter school Thursday morning accidentally fired in the schoolyard, Philadelphia police said.

Police said that no one was hurt when the gun accidentally went off outside of West Philadelphia Achievement Charter Elementary School at 6701 Callowhill Street around 8:55 a.m.

The boy had the gun inside the school then fired it in the schoolyard, police said. In a brief statement, police didn't reveal where the 8-year-old got the gun.

The school was locked down for about 20 minutes after the shooting, police said.

Police said they recovered the gun and took the child into custody.

As SkyForce10 hovered overhead later in the morning, yellow police tape could be seen blocking off part of the schoolyard.

In a prepared statement, the school confirmed that a child brought a gun to school and that it was fired:

"WPACES school personnel and school officials were immediately on-site to secure the situation and to lock down the school," WPACES said in the statement. "WPACES is grateful to report that no students, staff, or other persons were physically harmed. The student was detained and left WPACES with the police. WPACES is cooperating with law enforcement authorities as they perform their investigation."

The school called it an "isolated incident."

WPACES said it planned to keep the rest of its students in grades kindergarten through 5th grade in classes Thursday. The school, which caters to arts and technology curriculum, said counseling is available for students and staff.

There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.