Child Brought Loaded Gun in Lunch Box to Summer Camp: Police

Police in Concord, North Carolina, say that a child brought a loaded weapon to a summer camp, and an adult was cited after the incident.

According to the City of Concord, on Tuesday, a camper notified a counselor at the Les Myers Summer Camp that a child had said they had a weapon inside their lunch box. This comes as the nation is on high alert after several acts of gun violence over the Fourth of July holiday, including a mass shooting in Illinois, and the shooting of two police officers in Philadelphia, prompting some to say, "America is a horror movie."

Luckily, in the incident involving the lunch box, the city said no one was injured.

"Staff acted immediately to address the camper, secure the weapon, and call authorities. The camper involved had no intent to cause harm and at no time was the weapon used to threaten other campers or staff," the city stated.

The city added that the camper won't be returning to the summer program for 6- and 7-year-olds, adding that "bringing any weapon, including a toy weapon, is a violation of camp policies and cause for immediate expulsion."

Police responded to the scene and seized the weapon and cited an adult who owns the handgun "for failure to properly store a firearm to protect minors."

"We're grateful for the quick actions of our camp staff and that no one was harmed. Yesterday's incident, however, is an important reminder for all gun owners to take care to properly secure and store their firearms to help keep kids safe and prevent unintentional tragedies," the city said.

A spokesperson for the city added in an email to Newsweek that the adult who was cited in connection with the incident isn't a family member of the child, but a family acquaintance.

In a separate incident in Columbia, South Carolina, in May, police said that a loaded handgun was found in the backpack of a 7-year-old student. Sheriff's deputies said at the time that a student alerted staff that they believed a classmate had brought a gun to school and that the weapon was found when the student's backpack was searched.

In February, an 8-year-old at a play center in Utah found a loaded handgun in a climbing structure. The boy told a local news station that when he found the weapon he thought it was a toy at first. "I realized it didn't have an orange tip and it was way too heavy to be a toy and so I turned around to my mom and said, 'I think I found a real live gun,'" the boy, Oscar Govatos, said according to KSL.

Last month, a toddler in Louisiana accidentally shot themselves with a gun and was taken to the hospital. A police chief said the gun had been unattended and that the 3-year-old child picked it up and started playing with it inside a home.