23-05-2025
Child, 7, fires BB gun at windows of Pierce County elementary school, deputies say
Brookdale Elementary School in Parkland was placed on lockdown Thursday morning after a child shot BBs gun through the windows.
Deputies were dispatched at 9:08 a.m. to the 600 block of 132nd Street South for reports of shots fired and a teacher saying two windows were shattered, Pierce County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Carly Cappetto told The News Tribune.
People in the area were interviewed, and deputies checked the area, Cappetto said.
Once it was determined the shots came from a nearby home, deputies contacted the homeowners, she said. They learned their 7-year-old son had shot his BB Gun Glock replica towards the school. The child was gifted the gun from a family member and thought it was a 'toy.'
No one was injured and no arrests were made.
Deputies took in the BB gun for evidence, Cappetto said. The investigation will be forwarded to the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney's Office for review.
'The Pierce County Sheriff's Office is seeing more and more of these types of 'replica' BB guns with high velocity C02 cartridges. These are not toys and should not be in the hands of children,' she said.
Cappetto cited an incident in May 2024 when 51-year-old Rickey Albers was shot and killed by a pellet gun in the Graham area. His girlfriend, Nicole Lynn Johnson, was charged in his death and pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in February. She has been sentenced to two years and nine months in prison, The News Tribune reported.