Dad Defends Second-Grader Bringing Gun to School

Says school refused to protect him from bullies

A Queens second-grader whose backpack held a handgun and ammunition clip likely wanted the weapon for protection from schoolyard bullies, the boy's father said Friday.

Walter Orozo detailed his 7-year-old son's fears shortly after the boy's mother was arrested on weapons charges in the Thursday incident that led to a lockdown at the Wave Preparatory Elementary School in Far Rockaway.

"He was afraid for his life," Orozo said of his son. "He was afraid to go to school. The kids were picking and picking on him, but the school wouldn't do anything to protect him."

Orozo, 55, said he didn't know how the child acquired the .22-caliber handgun or the ammunition, but he believes the little boy went gun shopping in self-defense.