A five-year-old boy has been taken into custody after reports that he brought a gun with him to his Memphis-area elementary school. The gun is said to have discharged, but no children were hurt in the incident.

It is being reported that the kindergartener, who has not been named, brought the gun with him to Westside Elementary School in Frayser, Tenn. After several students were pretending to shoot each other with their fingers, the boy told him that he had a gun in his backpack. Once he reached for the gun, however, it discharged.

"Staff immediately took possession of that backpack," said Christian Ross, external communication analyst for Shelby County schools. "Our Shelby County school security team were contacted as well as local law enforcement. They're handling the investigation. From what we've heard, there's no evidence of harmful intent."

Nearby students have said that it sounded as if a balloon had just popped, and they were not initially aware that a gun had been fired. Memphis police have confirmed that the student was in possession of a handgun, but would not give any more particulars about the weapon in question.

"There is no evidence at this time of harmful intent," reads a statement from the school, "however, weapons of any kind are prohibited on campuses, and this student will be disciplined in accordance with the state's zero tolerance policy."

The incident occurred a little after 8 a.m. on Thursday, and though the school had not been shut down after the school discharged, by Thursday afternoon concerned parents were taking their children out of school. Frayser is one of the poorer areas in Memphis and has one of the highest crime rates in the city.