A Maryland community is reeling after a 7-year-old second grader at Freetown Elementary School in Glen Burnie allegedly brought a gun to school. Shortly after the school day had started, the child took out the gun inside his classroom and it went off. Police are still investigating whether or not the gun went off accidentally or was fired intentionally. Thankfully, the child was not seriously injured and was shot only in the hand. At the time, several other children were in the classroom who are likely traumatized after the experience. Police say an adult may face charges because the child was able to access the gun.
The incident took place inside a second-grade classroom around 8:30 a.m. on February 4, 2026, CBS Baltimore reported. Police said other students were in the classroom, but none of them was injured except the child with the weapon.
“A gun in one of our schools is our worst nightmare, and we are all grateful this did not end worse,” County Executive Steuart Pittman shared in a statement, per the outlet.
“None of us can imagine the terror or the fear that students experienced here this morning, and the teacher,” Police Chief Amal Awad said. Awad also praised the student’s teacher for getting the gun from the boy and giving him aid.
Police are investigating how the child could have accessed the gun in the first place and why it was fired. Currently, they believe he got it from his home.
“How did a 7-year-old baby get ahold of a firearm and make it all the way to school? This isn’t on the school,” Awad said, per CBS Baltimore. “How did a 7-year-old child gain access to a firearm and discharge it?”
The boy was taken to R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center to be treated for injuries that were not life-threatening.
“Whether it was an accidental discharge or this child intended to fire this weapon, somebody could have died today,” Captain Jaclyn Davis said during a media conference, WUSA reported. “And I think we are all standing under here thanking whoever we believe in that this ended, um, with the minimal amount of injuries that it did.
“We all know that teachers are heroes. We all know that teachers protect and love our children. This teacher today showed what a hero looks like,” Davis added, per WUSA. “And I know that they are going through it, and it was a traumatic event for them. But they should be so proud.”
Parents of students at Freetown Elementary School were told about the incident around 10 a.m., Anne Arundel County Public School district representative Bob Mosier said. “As word got out, parents came and picked their students up.”
One of those parents was Krista Campbell, whose 5-year-old attends the school. She initially heard about the shooting from a neighbor, she told The Baltimore Sun. She slammed the district for waiting so long to let parents know.
“I had no other information,” Campbell told the newspaper. “All I heard was there was a shooting at my daughter’s school. I had just dropped her off an hour before. The worst thoughts came to my mind.
“It’s like every parent’s nightmare,” she continued, saying she’s now considering homeschooling her child. “I’m just terrified. This was her first year starting public school, and now I don’t even want to send her back.”
Freetown Elementary School was scheduled to be open at its regular time on February 5. Crisis counselors and other resources were available for students and staff.
