AURORA, Colo. – An Arrowhead Elementary School mother was issued a summons for child abuse and failing to secure a firearm after a gun was found in a student's backpack on Friday morning, prompting a brief lockdown.
The Aurora Police Department said at 8:26 a.m. Friday, patrol officers responded to the school — located a few blocks north of E. Hampden Avenue and S. Tower Road in Aurora — after receiving a report of a student with a firearm.
"The preliminary information has so far determined the student was showing the firearm to friends, when another student notified a teacher," the police department said in a press release. "The teacher secured the firearm and the child’s backpack, and the school went into its lockdown protocol out of an abundance of caution."
The lockdown lasted just a few minutes, police said.
While the firearm was loaded, there was not a live round in the chamber, police added, and there was no indication that the student had any intention of harming anybody.
According to the Cherry Creek School District, school officials “were made aware of a report of a suspected weapon” and then called police.
The school resumed normal operations in the 9 a.m. hour, according to the district, which added “all students and staff are safe.”
The 39-year-old mother of the student, later identified by APD as Zoe Cherelle Cantrelle, was issued a summons for child abuse and failing to safely secure a firearm, police said Friday afternoon. Both are misdemeanors.
This investigation remains ongoing. Police said they "do not anticipate" any charges against the student.
Denver7 will update this story as more information becomes available.
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