CLEVELAND — Some teachers called off Friday at Oliver Hazard Perry School in Cleveland. This comes after a third-grade student was found with a gun earlier in the week.
According to CMSD Communications Officer Jon Benedict, "Several teachers called off today at OH Perry, but we have substitutes and central office support in place, and school is progressing as expected."
It's unknown if the call-offs were in direct response to the incident that happened on Tuesday, when a child informed the assistant principal at the school about another student with a gun and was allegedly told to "sit down."
A gun in school
Parents said they only learned what happened through a letter sent home with their elementary schoolers on Tuesday. In that letter, the school’s principal asked parents to remind children that “if they see or are shown a firearm, they should immediately inform an adult.”
Cleveland City Councilman Michael Polensek said that’s exactly what happened in this case, but called it “outrageous.”
The child saw other students in the lunchroom passing a gun around.
“A little girl reached out to the assistant principal and said, 'There’s a gun in the building.' He told her to go sit down,” said Polensek.
The girl then yelled for another teacher, who intervened and grabbed the weapon.
In a statement, a CMSD spokesperson said the incident happened “because adults did not follow our safety protocols,” and said the district’s investigation “identified a lapse in required screening procedures.”
CMSD says it is investigating the incident.
News 5 Investigator Scott Noll spoke with the student who reported the gun and her father:
RELATED: Father says girl reported a gun in school, but assistant principal told her to sit down
