Parents Of 3rd-Grader Who Brought Loaded Gun To School Arrested

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — The parents of a third-grader who brought a handgun to his elementary school in his backpack on Monday face multiple child endangerment charges, according to authorities.

The Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office arrested Ciara Armstead, 36, and Terrence Carroll Jr., 34, on Monday, charging each of them with recklessly leaving a loaded, unsecured firearm so as to endanger the life or limb of a child under the age of 14 and, while having custody of a child, willfully or negligently causing or permitting the life of such child to be endangered.

Both Armstead and Carroll were released on a $5,000 unsecured bond and are scheduled to be arraigned April 11 in Spotsylvania County Juvenile Domestic Court, authorities say.

“The parents of the child cooperated with the investigation,” according to the sheriff’s office. “The child involved in the incident is not being charged, following consultation with both Spotsylvania County Juvenile Intake and the Spotsylvania Commonwealth’s Attorney.”

Deputies responded Monday to Lee Hill Elementary School in Fredericksburg after being notified by school officials that a firearm inside a student’s backpack discharged around 10:50 a.m., according to authorities. No injuries were reported.

Investigators determined that the student had no intention of harming anyone. After the handgun discharged, the teacher evacuated all 26 students in the classroom and contacted the school resource officer, according to the sheriff’s office.

Spotsylvania County Public Schools released the following statement about the incident:

On Monday, April 7, 2025, a student at Lee Hill Elementary School had a gun in their backpack. While the gun was in the backpack, it discharged in one of the 3rd grade classrooms. Thankfully, no students or staff were injured.

In conjunction with the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office, school staff immediately followed safety protocols that included securing the weapon, safely removing students from the classroom to the cafeteria, going into a school-wide hold, and conducting a threat assessment.

The safety of our students and staff is our top priority. We are thoroughly investigating this incident in cooperation with the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office and will be taking action in accordance with our student code of conduct and board policies.

To help maintain school safety, we encourage anyone who is aware of a potential safety concern to immediately report it to the school division or through our SCPS Tip Line, at www.spotsylvania.k12.va.us/page/scpstips. We ask that parents and guardians check their child’s backpack each day to make sure they are bringing to school only items that are needed for instruction.

We acknowledge that today’s event is concerning for our students, staff, and families. We are working to determine what additional steps we can take to fully ensure the safety and wellbeing of our school community. Additionally, we are providing counseling support for anyone who may need assistance at this time.