Kindergartener Threatens Principal With Pellet Gun

A kindergartener brought a pellet gun to school and used it to threaten at least one staff member Thursday in California, KABC reports. According to NBC San Diego, the 5-year-old boy took the gun out of his backpack as students were preparing to leave for the day. After his teacher led the other students out of the classroom, the boy pointed the gun at the principal, who was also in the classroom, and said, "This is a gun and it's used to kill people." The principal took the gun away without further incident.

The child was suspended on Friday for up to five days, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. The school considers the pellet gun—a small black pistol with an orange tip—to be a toy and not a weapon and didn't involve police. Officials say the boy wouldn't be charged anyway because of his age. School administration spoke with the boy's mother, who didn't know her son had brought the gun to school. She says it was left at their house by a friend of one of her older children, and officials don't believe any further action is necessary. (More guns stories.)