Parents arrested, charged after third grader brings gun to a Spotsylvania elementary school

SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- The parents of the third-grade student who allegedly brought a handgun to Lee Hill Elementary School in Spotsylvania County have been arrested and charged.

According to the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office, 36-year-old Ciara Armstead and 34-year-old Terrence Carroll, Jr. -- the parents of a third grader in Monday's incident at Lee Hill Elementary -- were arrested and charged in the evening on April 7.

Both parents were charged with recklessly leaving a loaded, unsecured firearm in a manner that endangered the life or safety of a child under 14, which is a misdemeanor, and with willfully or negligently permitting the life of a child in their custody to be endangered, which is a felony.

The parents were released on an unsecured bond of $5,000. In addition, they have an upcoming arraignment date at Spotsylvania County Juvenile Domestic Court on April 11.

These arrests come after a handgun inside the third-grader's backpack accidentally fired in the classroom Monday morning, according to officials. This prompted the teacher to quickly evacuate all 26 students from the classroom and alert the School Resource Officer

Deputies said both parents of the student cooperated with the investigation. After consultation with Spotsylvania County Juvenile Intake and the Spotsylvania Commonwealth's Attorney, the child involved in the incident will not be charged.

The investigation determined that the child found the unsecured handgun in the home and put it in his book bag. At some point during class, the child reached into his bookbag to grab an item and accidentally discharged the firearm. No students or staff were injured.