Preschool child takes gun to school; she got it during visitation at dad's house (Tyler, Texas)

UNNAMED DAD, who is "separated" from the mom, apparently had some sort of child custody/visitation rights with his preschool age daughter. It appears that Dad also has guns laying around his place that were unsecured. Put the two together and you have a preschooler show up at school with a gun in her backpack. (We're very lucky she didn't accidently shoot herself or somebody else.) Nearly every case I see like this involves Dad's gun, sometimes an uncle's or a boyfriend's. Never seems to be Mom's gun. Either moms don't have guns, or they're not so stupid as to leave them laying around where little kids can find them.

http://www.tylerpaper.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090929/NEWS08/909299993

St. Gregory Preschooler Totes Loaded Gun To School

The mother of a preschool student at St. Gregory School said a loaded gun was found in her child’s backpack on Monday.

Don Martin, the Tyler Police Department public information officer, said officers were dispatched to the school and that an investigation has been launched.

The child’s mother told the Tyler Morning Telegraph the gun was discovered by a teacher who saw her daughter digging into the backpack while in class.

She said she was not informed about what happened until she picked up her daughter after school and the child told her.

She said school personnel initially only informed the father about what happened.

The parents are separated. The mother said the child had been staying with the father, she said.

Martin said it is illegal to have a gun on a school campus and that someone could be charged with making a handgun accessible to a minor.

Tyler police were conducting an investigation Monday afternoon.

When contacted by the Tyler newspaper, the father chose not to comment.

Calls to the school and principal were not returned to the newspaper by Monday night.

St. Gregory is part of the Catholic School System in Tyler.