7-year-old Philadelphia boy finds loaded gun in his backpack

GlobalPost

A 7-year-old boy from Philadelphia got a scary surprise when packing his backpack Thursday afternoon: a .38-caliber loaded handgun had made its way into his schoolbag. 

The boy was at the after-school program at West Philly's Universal Samuel Daroff Charter School when he found the gun around 4 p.m. and notified a teacher, the Associated Press reported

The school's staff immediately took the bag from the boy and called the police.

"We're currently investigating the specifics of how this kid came in contact with the weapon," said Lt. John Walker, adding that the gun was a revolver containing five rounds, according to Philly.com

The boy was being questioned by detectives, as was his mother and a male family member, as to the origins of the gun, NBC News Philadelphia reported.

He said that the bag had been with him in class the whole day, CBS News reported

More from GlobalPost: 7-year-old brings gun to NY school

Will you support The World?

Without federal support, local stations, especially in rural and underserved areas, face deep cuts or even closure. Vital public service alerts, news, storytelling, and programming like The World will be impacted. The World has weathered many storms, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to being your trusted source for human-centered international news, shared with integrity and care. We believe public media is about truth and access for all. As an independent, nonprofit newsroom, we aren’t controlled by billionaire owners or corporations. We are sustained by listeners like you.

Now more than ever, we need your help to support our global reporting work and power the future of The World.