A Van-Far School District elementary student was found in possession of a firearm without incident Thursday on campus according to Superintendent John Fortney in a letter sent out to parents and media.

The incident took place on the bus the eight-year-old student was riding to school on and the child in question had a firearm in their book bag, the letter read.

A student reported to the bus driver that the other in question had the firearm in a book bag and the driver pulled over and asked the student for the bag and secured it.

Once arriving at the school, the student reported to be armed with a gun was turned over to the building principal and the school resource officer where they then confirmed a firearm was in the bag.

“All students are safe and authorities do not believe the young person was a threat to others,” Fortney’s letter said. “Safety is our first priority, and while it appears no harm was intended in this situation, we must take such incidents seriously. All of those involved in the situation followed our district’s safety protocols and we appreciate their professionalism.”

Fortney’s letter encouraged those with concerns to contact Van-Far Elementary principal Brian Hummel.

Audrain County Sheriff Matthew Oller said that it boiled down to the child finding a gun at his home and he decided to show it off.

“He snuck it out of the house to show some friends and some teachers,” Oller said. “The gun - an 8mm pistol - was not loaded. It was a silly move by an 8-year-old kid. According to my SROs, the kid doesn’t have any ill will toward anyone.

“He said he was going to show the principal because, ‘the principal is a cool dude and I like the principal. Maybe he’d think it’s cool too.’”

-Alan Dale contributed to this story