Maryland girl says she warned school officials about 8-year-old classmate bringing gun to school

PARK HALL, Md. - A young Maryland girl is speaking out to FOX 5 after she said she was the one who warned school officials about her 8-year-old classmate bringing a loaded handgun to school, leading to the young boy's arrest.

It happened Wednesday morning at Park Hall Elementary School in St. Mary's County and comes less than a month after the shooting at Great Mills High School where a 16-year-old girl was killed and a 14-year-old boy was injured.

It is still unclear why that the 8-year-old boy had a gun, but Ailea Arrington Scott said she was not going to take any chances.

"Nerve-wracking, scary and I feel nervous," she described of seeing the weapon.

The 8-year-old girl is still too shaken to get back on the school bus where she said her classmate pulled out the loaded gun. Ailea is now getting a ride from her grandmother to school.

"He had a gun and he cocked it," Ailea said.

"She told him to get it out of her face," said Bonnie Scott, Ailea's grandmother. "He was like it's not real and stuck the clip in and she said he cocked it, and was like it's not real because if I pull this right here, it's going to go off. I'll shoot the floor. Then she said the little boy [said] something about his family being military and if you tell, I think the word was, 'They worship the military and nothing going to happen to us.'"

Bonnie said her granddaughter remained calm and waited until she got to school to tell an adult. Police said a school official confronted the 8-year-old boy and found a loaded semi-automatic handgun in his book bag. The child was arrested.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service has taken over the investigation into the incident and is looking into how the child got access to the gun. Police said both parents are active-duty military members and the child lives in an off-base military housing community. He is believed to have brought the gun from home.

Meanwhile, Bonnie is incredibly proud of her granddaughter for coming forward.

"All parents just need to instill in their kids to be aware of your surroundings, know what is going on, say something, get to an adult, don't panic because if she had panicked or tried to take the gun, who knows what would have happened -- or if she would have yelled out to the bus driver," Bonnie said. "It's imperative that they teach these things."

"I feel bad, but I also feel happy because I did the right thing," said Ailea.