Kansas 9-year-old tries to swap gun for Xbox
It started out as a proposed trade between two 9-year-old Wichita boys.
One boy offered a .38-caliber handgun for an Xbox, a popular electronic game system, officials say. The gun would turn out to be loaded.
But the trade never occurred. Instead, the boy offering the gun has been suspended from school, and his grandfather has received a notice to appear in court for improperly storing a firearm.
Everyone -- including the grandfather -- agreed Wednesday that the good thing is no one got hurt.
A possible tragedy was averted because authorities were notified, police said.
Instead of going through with the trade Tuesday, the boy with the Xbox told his mother about the offer. The mother quickly notified a teacher, and soon police were alerted, school district spokeswoman Susan Arensman said.
Police found the loaded gun in the boy's backpack at his home Tuesday night.
Police spokeswoman Janet Johnson stressed that the gun never made it to school and that the boy made no threats.
The two boys are classmates at Woodman Elementary School, 2500 Hiram, Arensman said.
Because the school district has a zero-tolerance policy against weapons and because the gun could have been taken to school, the boy who offered the trade has been suspended. He will remain on suspension pending a hearing that will be held within a week, Arensman said.
The boy's grandfather and guardian, Clark Sharon, said he took precautions to keep the gun away from his grandson.
Johnson said Sharon has cooperated with investigators.
The Eagle is not naming the boy.
Tuesday afternoon, the boys discussed the trade as they walked home, off school grounds, Arensman said.
Sharon, 54, said he thought the gun -- a five-shot model -- had been stolen recently from his southwest Wichita home during a break-in. He didn't report it.
It wasn't until Tuesday night, when police came to his door, that Sharon starting learning the truth:
About two weeks ago, his grandson had taken a ladder around to Sharon's bedroom window.
Sharon said he keeps his bedroom door locked from the inside and stored the unloaded pistol, out of sight, in the top rear of his closet. He kept the ammunition separately, in a nightstand.
But without Sharon knowing, he said, his grandson pried open the window from the outside, took the gun and loaded it with five bullets, then hid it in the garage.
The gun remained in the garage for about 10 days until the boy put it to his backpack, where police found it and confiscated it.
"I thought I had taken every reasonable precaution," Sharon said.
During questioning, the boy told officers he never planned to take the gun to school, Sharon said.
"He just said his intention was to get an Xbox."
The boy had received another electronic-game toy and traded it away, his grandfather said.
Sharon, an aircraft tool builder, said his grandson is "very smart" and makes excellent grades.
Still, Sharon said, the boy doesn't yet fully understand the trouble he's in now.
The trade apparently was to have taken place at Sharon's house.
But the boy with the Xbox told his mother, who started the chain of alerting authorities.
"She did the right thing," Arensman said.
"We're glad that the Police Department immediately... conducted the investigation."
Glad nobody was hurt....
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Originally Posted by Nameless
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