Boy takes gun, knives to Elida Elementary School

ELIDA — An Elida Elementary School pupil carried three knives and a loaded gun into the school building Tuesday morning, but the weapons were quickly discovered and school officials said he made no threats and no one was harmed.

Superintendent Don Diglia said the fourth-grader showed the knives to another pupil on the bus. Once the bus arrived at school, that pupil told a teacher about the knives, and the boy was quickly called to the principal’s office. School officials found the gun when they searched his things.

Officials called the police and the boy’s parents.

Diglia, who sent a letter to district parents about the incident, said it was important to note that though it was a potentially dangerous situation, the boy did not make any threats of any kind, or say he himself had been threatened.

“This was just a really, really bad choice,” Diglia said.

Officials suspended the boy for 10 days and recommended him for expulsion.

The American Township Police Department handled the incident, but no one at the department could be reached for comment Tuesday evening.

The school day was not disrupted. Diglia said officials considered locking down the building, but decided it was unnecessary. He praised both the pupil who informed the teacher and the staff

“It was a bad situation but it was handled immediately,” he said.

Why the boy brought the gun was unclear, though Diglia said he may have been trying to show off.