"To prevent the bringing of weapons." Elementary school bans backpacks

A school in Michigan (United States) banned students from bringing backpacks to school after a third-grader brought a repository gun to school, the second time it has happened in the past two weeks.

Grand Rapids Public Schools said the decision came after the gun was confiscated from the 8-year-old's backpack on Wednesday, the fourth time a student has been found at the school carrying a gun this school year. In three of the four incidents, weapons were confiscated from primary school students, including last week.

Principal Lydrian Ruby said in a statement: "This is not a decision we have taken lightly and we know that this is a great inconvenience to our families. I am very frustrated that a decision like this is necessary, but we must put safety first."

"Here we are again, and I will just say that I am disappointed, and I am sad and angry that this continues to happen," Ruby told a news conference on Wednesday.

The 8-year-old was revealed when he dropped the backpack. Larry Johnson, executive director of public safety and school security, told reporters that when another student picked up the bag, he realized it was heavier than it should have been and reported it.

Johnson said the teacher then took immediate action to investigate and school officials discovered a weapon inside the bag. The incident was then reported to the local police.

Johnson was quoted by ABC as saying there was nothing in the 8-year-old's history to suggest he would bring a gun to school.

Mr Johnson said: "Now is the time to escalate before tragedy occurs in this community. This is unacceptable. We will not continue to tolerate it."

Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom told reporters he expected there to be criminal charges in this incident and the previous incident last week when a 7-year-old boy brought a gun to school. He added that the charges would not be against the children.

Winstrom called on parents to check their students' backpacks before they go to school to make sure the city can avoid tragedy.

Rosalyn Bliss, the mayor of Grand Rapids, called on parents to keep guns out of the hands of children, saying the city could not do it alone.

Grand Rapids isn't the only school in Michigan to have recently banned backpacks. Flint Community Schools, about two hours east of Grand Rapids, made a similar move to ban backpacks in late April.