RICHMOND, Va. -- A first grade student was disciplined Wednesday after she brought a knife to Elizabeth D. Redd Elementary School.
The girl had the knife in her backpack and took it out to show it to another student as students gathered in the cafeteria before classes started, according to RPS spokesperson Cletisha Lovelace. She said that the worker then took the child to the office and her parents were called.
Lovelace said shortly after the incident they alerted parents through an automated phone call.
It was unclear why the child brought the knife to school. No one was hurt in the incident.
Sean Phiney said his wife took the call and that she told him about it before he went to the school to walk his children home.
“It’s astonishing. I know children will be children sometimes, but you can’t bring that to school,” Phiney said.
Phiney, who was glad that the school worked quickly to notify parents, said he believes this is a good opportunity for parents to speak to their children about what they should and shouldn't bring on school grounds.
CBS 6 News found out this is the first time this year a student brought a weapon to the school. A closer look at Virginia Department of Education records show how school districts compare when it comes to weapons violations.
Here is a breakdown of weapons offenses for area school districts for the 2013-2014 school year:
Richmond Public Schools -- 142
Chesterfield Public Schools -- 112
Henrico Public Schools -- 105
The data on VDOE’s website does not specify what the weapons were in each case.
