Student says he was bullied into bringing gun to Fayetteville elementary school

A student who brought a loaded gun to a Cumberland County elementary school told authorities he was bullied into it.

The fifth-grader at Long Hill Elementary School, at 6490 Ramsey St., had the gun in his backpack for a week before school administrators found it Thursday morning, authorities said.

The 11-year-old said a 10-year-old classmate ordered him to bring the gun to school, Superintendent Marvin Connelly said.

"Two students are involved because one student asked to bring him some stuff to school – bring him a cellphone, bring him some other things – and this young student who was afraid not to do so," Connelly said.

No one was hurt, but social media lit up with complaints from parents outraged that the school wasn't put on lockdown and that an alert wasn't sent to parents until near the end of the school day.

"That's crazy that nobody knows about that," Fayetteville resident David Whitney said. "The fact that nobody knows about that is a problem."

Connelly said Principal Monica Carter followed the proper protocol after discovering the gun on campus. Notifying parents isn't first on the list, he said.

"First of all, [you have to] ensure that the campus is safe, all the students and faculty are safe. The principal needs to tend to the matter at hand right then," he said. "As soon as the principal can make sure everyone's safe, then we can start the communications protocol to get the word out to the broader community."

Sheriff Ennis Wright said the safety on the gun was off.

"That could have turned tragic, even for the kid that was toting that weapon and the kids around in that school," Wright said.

The 11-year-old's father is a concealed carry instructor and should have done a better job securing the weapon inside his home, the sheriff said.

"Check periodically to make sure your weapon is there," he said. "It's not going to hurt you to go to that box and say, 'Let me see if my weapon's here. Let me go to my safe and see if my weapon's here.'"

Authorities are determining whether any criminal charges should be filed, while school district administrators are weighing how to discipline the two students.