A Texas father was arrested on Tuesday after a teacher at a San Antonio pre-K center discovered a handgun in the backpack of his 3-year-old child, police said.
The father, Pete Robles, 35, was charged with child endangerment and the child was placed in protective custody with Child Protective Services, according to the San Antonio Police Department.
The teacher at the Pre-K 4 SA East Education Center noticed the gun when she was checking the backpacks of the students as part of the morning routine, the police said. She immediately notified the school administration and the police, who arrived at the scene and secured the weapon.
The police said the investigation is active and more arrests and charges are possible. They did not disclose how the gun ended up in the child’s backpack or whether it was loaded.
Sarah Baray, the chief executive officer of Pre-K 4 SA, a network of publicly funded pre-K centers in San Antonio, said in a statement that the gun was brought into the school unintentionally and that no one was harmed.
The incident sparked a debate on gun safety and education in Texas, where a new law that took effect on Sept. 1 allows people to carry handguns without a license or training. The law, which was supported by Gov. Greg Abbott and Republican lawmakers, has been criticized by gun control advocates and some law enforcement officials as a threat to public safety.
“This is not an accident. This is gross negligence,” Gyl Switzer, the executive director of Texas Gun Sense, a nonprofit organization that promotes gun violence prevention, said in an interview. “We need to have common sense laws that prevent these kinds of tragedies from happening.”
Ms. Switzer said that Texas has one of the highest rates of unintentional shootings involving children in the country, according to data from Everytown for Gun Safety, a national advocacy group. She said that parents who own guns should store them securely and educate their children about gun safety.
Some parents of pre-K students also expressed their concern and frustration over the incident.
“We need to be teaching our kids about gun safety. We need to be teaching our parents about gun safety,” Nicole Golden, whose daughter attends Pre-K 4 SA East Education Center, told KSAT, a local news station.
Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a grassroots movement that campaigns for stronger gun laws, said on Twitter that the incident was “ridiculous” and “dangerous.”
“I think it’s ridiculous. I think it’s irresponsible. I think it’s dangerous,” Ms. Watts said. “This is why we need background checks on every gun sale and red flag laws that allow family members and law enforcement to intervene when someone is a danger to themselves or others.”
Relevant articles:
– A Texas father was arrested after a gun was found inside a 3-year-old pre-K student’s backpack, police say, CNN, August 16, 2023
– 35-year-old father arrested after gun found in child’s backpack, KSAT, August 15, 2023
– Father arrested after handgun found in 3-year-old’s backpack at school, ABC News, August 16, 2023
– Gun found in 3-year-old’s backpack at Pre-K in San Antonio, police say, WFAA, August 17, 2023