ORANGE COUNTY, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- As the Orange County Sheriff's Office continues to investigate after an elementary student brought a loaded gun to school, law enforcement is pleading for families to do their part in ensuring this doesn't happen.
"We can't protect schools the same way we protect airports, they are two very different places," Executive Director of the National Association of School Resource Officers Mo Canady said.
Guns and kids. a combination that should never happen.
"Secure your firearms, because that is the way that in many of these instances of how they are being taken from home is that they aren't secured," Canady said.
On Monday, a 6-year-old student walked into the Orange County Elementary School with a loaded .22 caliber revolver in his backpack.
In this case, a student resource officer and school administration were able to step in before anything happened, but that isn't always the outcome.
Canady says even when there is an innocent intent, backpacks can conceal a lot.
"We are learning that the shooter in the Apalachee High School shooting in Georgia actually concealed the weapon in the backpack," Canady said.
Canady says that protecting schools is necessary but complicated. According to Canady, current security options aren't always accurate.
"Check airports, check prisons, metal detectors don't always stop everything," Canady said.
But legal analyst Scott Goodman says metal detectors might be a step in the right direction.
"It's starting to happen too often I don't think we are far from metal detectors in schools,” he said.
Regardless, Canady says having a law enforcement officer in the building can prevent massacres or de-escalate potentially dangerous situations.
As for Orange County Elementary, the Sheriff's Office says they believe the student was unaware of the severity of this case and did not seem to have any plan to use the weapon. However, they are still investigating and determining if legal action will be taken against the parents or if others were involved.
