'It makes me sick': 7-year-old brings gun to Nash elementary school two days after gun found at Clayton High School

Two guns were brought to school campuses in a three-day stretch.

On Friday, Rocky Mount police say a 7-year-old student brought a gun belonging to his uncle, a convicted felon, to school Friday in Nash County.

Rocky Mount police said a student at Winstead Avenue Elementary School showed the .40 caliber gun to a classmate, the classmate reported it to a teacher and the teacher and student resource officer worked together to resolve the situation.

Winstead Elementary was never locked down. Both student and weapon were removed from the classroom without anyone being hurt.

"It's sad," Maggie Swain, a parent in Johnston County, said. "So glad nobody was hurt."

This was the second time in two days a gun was brought to a school.

WRAL News learned a student at Clayton High School left a gun in their car on campus two days earlier.

A juvenile petition was filed in Johnston County after investigators discovered the gun.

The 7-year-old was not charged, but parents are still upset that he got access to the gun.

"A 7-year-old!" Swain said. "It makes me sick to my stomach."

Daniel Meier, a defense attorney, said the criminal punishments vary by age in situations similar to the ones at Clayton High and Winstead Avenue Elementary.

"You're certainly not going to charge a 7-year-old as a general rule for bringing a gun to school," Meier said. "They often don't know better, but a high school kid should know better."

Investigators with the Rocky Mount Police Department traced the gun to the 7-year-old's uncle, Anivel Puddy, 30.

Police searched Puddy's home and seized four firearms, one that had been reported stolen out of Littleton, N.C.

Puddy was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and improper storage of firearms to protect minors.

He was jailed under a $50,000 secured bond and later bonded out.

"The student involved will face disciplinary measures following NCPS’ code of conduct," said Heather Louise Finch, Nash County Public Schools executive director of communication, planning and engagement. "There is no current threat to the safety of our students and staff. We urge all students to "See something, Say something" and report concerns to a teacher or trusted adult."

State law requires a 365-day suspension from school if a student brings a gun onto a school campus, but Meier said superintendents on a case-by-case basis can modify it.