An 8-year-old Florida boy is being called a “hero” after he reported that a fellow classmate brought a loaded gun to school.
Blake Johnson, a third grader at Hudson Elementary School, was in the bathroom when another 8-year-old student pulled a loaded 9 mm handgun out of his backpack.
“He pulled it out, like, and pointed it at the wall,” Johnson told CBS News. “He said ‘If you tell,’ he’ll kill me.”
Johnson said that despite being a bit scared, he immediately went to report the gun to the school security officer.
“I told the security officer that the kid had a gun, and then, I told him which backpack and the kid,” he told local station WFLA.
Captain Chris Beaman of the Pasco Sheriff’s Office said that the weapon was recovered after a search of the bag.
“Sure enough, whenever the backpack was searched, the school security guard found a loaded 9 mm Sig Sauer handgun,” Beaman said. “It frustrates me as a law enforcement officer who started this profession to protect, to even think of a possibility of what could have happened.”
Johnson said that after the incident, deputies called him a “hero.”
The student with the gun might face criminal charges and could be expelled from the school.
Johnson’s mother, Laynie Johnson, said she is proud of her son’s courage to stand up and do the right thing.
“I’m happy that he knows what to do, and I’m happy that he was brave enough to do it,” she said. “I’m very proud.”
