NEW YORK - Police in New York City have arrested the mother of a seven-year-old boy who took a gun and ammunition to school in his rucksack. Deborah Farley was arrested on Friday on several charges including criminal possession of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child. Police say the 53-year-old’s son had taken the handgun to his Queens elementary school on Thursday.
They said it was not clear whether the boy initially knew it was in his bag. Police said when the mother learned about the gun she rushed to school and told officials her son had a dental appointment. The boy said he had given the weapon to a friend, at which point she alerted the principal. The school, which has been practising for security drills since the Sandy Hook massacre, was immediately locked down. The seven-year-old’s rucksack was searched and the semi-automatic pistol, a magazine containing ten rounds and a plastic bag with bullets in it was found. A flare gun was found in the second boy’s bag, police said.