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Connecticut boy charged after gun goes off at school

By Richard Weizel MILFORD, Conn. (Reuters) - An 11-year-old Connecticut boy was arrested on Thursday after he brought a loaded gun to school and it discharged in a boys' bathroom close to where students were attending an after-school program, police said. The unidentified sixth-grader was charged with possession of a weapon on school grounds, carrying a pistol without a permit, unlawful discharge of a firearm and reckless endangerment, said Acting New London Police Chief Peter Reichard. "It appears he brought the gun from home, and into school and was showing it to friends when it discharged," Reichard said. The incident occurred on Wednesday at Benny Dover Jackson Middle School in New London, about 80 miles east of Newtown where 26 people were killed by a 20-year-old gunman in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in the deadliest U.S. school shooting. Reichard said in Wednesday's incident a teacher went into the bathroom and found the gun in a garbage can. The student was released into the custody of his parents while awaiting a hearing in juvenile court. No charges have yet been filed against the boy's parents, Reichard said. The student was suspended from the school and could face expulsion, school officials said. New London Superintendent of Schools Manuel Rivera said in a letter to parents on Thursday that because of the incident "we are currently in the process of evaluating our safety procedures and protocols at all schools." "Unfortunately, incidents such as this are happening more often in schools across America,” Rivera said. (Editing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)