Guns aren’t allowed on school campuses. We all know this. I mean, it’s kind of the one thing that really should be universally known about schools.

However, it sometimes happens. Most of the time, it’s an intentional kind of thing. Someone carries a firearm onto a school campus because they simply don’t care about following the rules.

Yet that’s not universally true by any stretch of the imagination.

Students at Rosspoint Elementary School alerted officials after another student talked about having a holster, according to a press release from Harlan County Schools. When staff members questioned him, they found the gun in his backpack. There was no ammunition in the gun or the backpack.

“I can’t commend our students and staff enough for their actions this morning,” said Superintendent Brent Roark. “The students knew exactly what to do and responded appropriately. Our teachers and staff are trained in preparedness and they responded appropriately as well. The weapon was not loaded and the student made no threats to or against anyone.

The student was taken into custody by police and taken to appear before a court-designated worker. He was charged with Unlawful Possession of a Weapon on School Property, according to the sheriff’s office.

…

“I realize we live in an area where hunting and shooting are common practice to many,” said Jim T. Whitaker, Harlan County safe schools coordinator. “Parents should ensure that anytime young people have participated in such activities away from school that firearms and ammunition are secured in order to prevent such incidents.”

At an elementary school.

The study reportedly claimed he’d been camping with his parents and the gun was left in his backpack by mistake. Seeing as how there was no ammo with the weapon, that’s plausible. Besides, had his parents disputed that account, that likely would have been included.

It’s funny, though.

You see, when I was in high school, my classmates often went hunting before school in the morning. My hunting was all on the weekend, but they did it during the week before school. As such, there were guns in at least half the trucks in the parking lot, or so it seemed at the time. Guess how many issues we had because of that? Zero.

Of course, we were in high school, not elementary school, but still.

Folks, all I can say is that if you go out with your guns, make sure they’re all accounted for at steps along the way. Make sure they all make it back into the car at the end of the excursion then make sure they all make it back in the house and the gun safe.

That would be the ideal play going forward to keep something like this from happening.

However, let’s also remember one very important thing. Had this student had nefarious intentions, he’d have likely taken greater care in concealing what he had and no law on the books would have stopped him from doing so. That’s something to remember when we talk about school shootings and mass shootings in general.

It’s something that will routinely get ignored, though.