Biden proposes to Congress 2 laws to control weapons in the US 3:15
(CNN) --
A Pennsylvania woman and a North Carolina man were charged this week in connection with two different incidents, after a 6-year-old boy in each case brought a gun to school, authorities said.
That adds up to at least three times an elementary school student has brought a gun onto campus this year, including the case of a 6-year-old boy who allegedly shot her teacher in Newport News, Virginia, last month.
In Pennsylvania, a Norristown mother was arrested after her 6-year-old son brought a gun to Joseph K. Gotwals Elementary School on February 9, according to prosecutors.
Jasmin Devlin, 30, turned herself in Tuesday and was charged with felony endangering the welfare of a child and reckless endangerment for failing to secure a firearm in her home, the County District Attorney's Office said. Montgomery in a press release.
It is not clear if Devlin currently has an attorney.
Police were alerted to the gun on campus after a group of students who shared the school bus with the 6-year-old boy that morning told the school secretary that he showed them the gun and bullets.
"The school secretary immediately took the boy to the office, looked in his backpack and saw the firearm. She then called the Norristown police," the statement said.
Police believe the boy found the weapon, a Jimenez Arms 9mm semi-automatic pistol, on a dresser in his mother's bedroom the night before he brought her to school, according to prosecutors.
His 10-year-old brother removed the bullets from the gun and aimed at his brother, simulating to shoot her, according to the news release.
The 6-year-old boy told detectives that he returned to her mother's room at midnight, put the firearm in her backpack and took it to school, according to the statement.
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"I would like to commend the children who immediately notified school officials, thereby preventing another tragedy at a school," Acting Norristown Police Chief Michael Bishop said in the news release.
"These children are the true heroes of this unfortunate incident. Their notification to school officials prompted an immediate response by the Norristown Police, ensuring the safety of everyone at the school."
Jasmin Devlin Credit: Montgomery County District Attorney's Office
Devlin obtained the gun through a front man purchase by a Norristown man on March 4, 2022, the statement from the district attorney's office says.
Front man purchases occur when someone buys a gun for someone else when they are not legally eligible to buy one.
Devlin's bail was set at $50,000 and he was ordered to have no contact with children as part of his bail conditions.
The preliminary hearing is set for February 24.
In North Carolina, Marvin Ray Davis, 58, was charged with misdemeanor improper storage of a firearm to protect a minor after an unloaded 9mm handgun was discovered in a boy's backpack. 6 years old at Fairview Elementary School on Tuesday, according to a news release from the Rocky Mount Police Department.
A school resource officer searched the boy's backpack after being notified by administrators that a student was in possession of a firearm, the statement said.
"The backpack was secured by campus staff and the child was removed from the classroom. There were no threats with the weapon and the child never displayed it," police said.
Davis is not related to the boy, but lived in the same house, a spokesman for the department told CNN.
He was set on $4,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Rocky Mount court on March 1, according to the statement.
It's unclear if Davis has an attorney, and CNN has made several attempts to contact him.
CNN has also contacted Nash County Public Schools for comment.
"The situation ... should be a reminder to all gun owners to safely secure their guns so minors can't access them," Rocky Mount Police Chief Robert Hassell said.
"This was an avoidable situation," he added.
His 6-year-old sister was shot and killed by another child.
She now wants parents to educate about weapons
The cases are especially troubling after police say a six-year-old boy shot his first-grade teacher in Virginia on January 6.
The teacher is recovering from a gunshot wound to the chest and the school has reopened with new security measures, including metal detectors.
In Pennsylvania, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele called the incident a "terrifying reminder that children can and do find firearms at home and play with them."
Fortunately, these children were not struck or shot at home, and no one was injured at school thanks to the swift action of school personnel."
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