Polk father charged after leaving gun in son's backpack

A Lakeland father is facing charges after a handgun was found in a kindergarten student's backpack.

This happened at Wendell Watson Elementary School on Monday.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office says the father had returned from a Pensacola vacation late Thursday night and accidentally placed the gun inside his son's backpack while unpacking the car.

Monday afternoon, the kindergartner opened up his backpack at school, found the gun, and immediately told his teacher.

The 27-year-old is now charged with failure to safely store a firearm.