Robby Stuteville, the superintendent of Rising Star Independent School District in Texas, resigned after a third-grade student found his unattended gun in a school bathroom, according to KTAB/KRBCstations.
Stuteville confirmed last week that a student found his firearm in the bathroom in January and immediately reported it to a teacher without handling it.
The school district allows for the superintendent and the school principal to carry guns on campus according to Stuteville.
The superintendent claimed he removed his gun while using the school restroom and left it in a stall by mistake. He said the firearm remained unattended for about 15 minutes until the third-grade student found it.
VIDEO: St. Louis Man Murdered in Broad Daylight, Execution Style
“There was never a danger other than the obvious,” Stuteville said.
In a move that further surprised parents, when the student notified the teacher of the weapon, the teacher sent another student into the restroom to confirm that the firearm was real.
Giovanni Mata, the student’s father, was one of the parents who questioned the teacher’s decision.
“Why would you send a kid? Why not send someone else?” Mata questioned.
Mata, who recently relocated from Uvalde, Texas — the site of the tragic school shooting in May that took the lives of 19 students and two teachers — said the bathroom incident was too close for comfort.
“You can’t say that was a mistake to leave a gun there,” Mata said. “You can’t mistake a life.”
In spite of the ruckus, Stuteville said he was “proud” of the third-grader for being responsible in the situation and notifying an adult.
“This is one of those examples of guns in schools,” Stuteville said. “Regardless of who takes responsibility, they are a considerable danger and one should school their child to be on the lookout for any unusual placement of a weapon or anything out of place.”
SEE ALSO: New Legislation Would Create a Centralized Database of Gun Purchasers
Dozens of parents attended an emergency meeting Thursday and expressed frustration over not being informed about the incident for a month.
“Why we as parents had to find out about it through the news … It only makes the school seem like they have something to hide,” one of the parents said.
The grandmother of two Rising Star ISD students, Elizabeth Lee, was in attendance at Thursday’s meeting.
“I was shocked because it happened early in January and we’re just now finding out about it,” she said. “Mr. Stuteville is a good man. But that was irresponsible.”
Lee emphasized that those who carry need to be accountable.
“For our kids’ protection, we need someone who is more responsible with a gun,” she said.
Rising Star police have launched an investigation into the incident.
*** Buy and Sell on GunsAmerica! All Local Sales are FREE! ***
The teacher needs to be fired for sending another child to the bathroom to confirm that it was real. What a bonehead!
Inexcusably careless but the question does come to mind: why is the superintendent using the same bathroom as the students?