RICHLAND COUNTY, S.C. — A 7-year-old was found with a loaded handgun Thursday at a Columbia elementary school, according to the Richland County Sheriff's Department.
Deputies say a child at Sandlapper Elementary School in Northeast Columbia told an administrator that they believed a student had a gun.
Administrators searched the backpack of the 7-year-old student and found a loaded handgun, according to deputies. The weapon was turned over to the school Resource Officer.
Investigators with the Richland County Sheriff's Department are looking into how the child obtained the weapon and if bringing it to school was intentional, according to officials.
The discovery comes just days after 19 children and two teachers were killed at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.