The parents of an 8-year-old boy who took a loaded handgun to Myers Elementary School last Thursday are free on bond following their arrests by Hall County sheriff’s investigators in connection with the incident.
“Deputies arrested Heather Thuy Rodriguez, 31, of Gainesville, Thursday afternoon following the initial
investigation,” sheriff’s office spokesman Derreck Booth said Monday morning. “The boy’s father, Cristian Ruben Rodriguez-Martinez, 31, of Gainesville, turned himself in at the Hall County Jail Friday afternoon.”
Each was charged with reckless conduct for leaving the gun unsecured and accessible to their son.
“According to the preliminary investigation,” Booth said, “the child took the weapon from the console of his parents’ vehicle and brought it into his room Wednesday evening, Feb. 25. The boy, a second grader, then brought it to school the next morning.”
At approximately 8:15 a.m. Thursday, he showed it to a fellow student, who reported it to a teacher. The
principal searched the boy, confiscated the gun, and immediately reported the incident to the school
resource officer (SRO), launching the investigation. The handgun had a loaded magazine but no round in the chamber.
Heather Rodriguez posted $1,300 bond and was released from jail late Thursday night. Cristian Rodriguez-Martinez posted $1,300 bond and was released from jail early Saturday morning.