2nd grader carries gun to school; mother, brother arrested

NEW YORK: A second grader brought an unloaded gun to his New York City elementary school, and his mother and 14-year-old brother were arrested.

The 7-year-old boy brought the .38-caliber handgun to Public School 63 on Thursday.

A teacher was able to get the gun from the boy after hearing from other students that he was showing it off.

Police arrested the boy's mother, 35-year-old Andrea Clarke, a traffic enforcement agent, on charges of endangering the welfare of a child.

In a written statement to police, Clarke said her boyfriend had brought the gun home for her older son to use as protection at school, and she asked that it be removed from the house.

Clarke was ordered held on $15,000 bail. She faces up to one year in jail. Her older son, whose name was not released, was charged in family court, but prosecutors would not name the charges.

The 7-year-old has not been charged or arrested. A message left for Clarke's lawyer was not immediately returned on Friday.