Substitute teacher found guilty of accidentally shooting first-grader when his knife fired his gun

A former substitute teacher was convicted on misdemeanor charges after a knife in his pocket accidentally fired a gun inside a first-grade classroom in Alabama.

Henry Rex Weaver was convicted Monday of possession of a firearm in a prohibited place, reckless endangerment, and third-degree assault, reported AL.com.

One student was struck by a fragment from the bullet in the March 22 incident at Blountsville Elementary School.

The 74-year-old Weaver had a Taurus .380 pistol and a knife in his front right pants pocket, according to investigators.

When he bent over to pick up some papers from the floor, authorities said, the knife entered the trigger guard and discharged the firearm into the floor.

A bullet fragment struck a 7-year-old boy in the leg, causing a welt, but did not penetrate the child's skin.

Weaver said he had put the pistol away for several days because his permit had expired, but he renewed the permit the day before the incident and took the gun to work with the intention of putting the gun under the armrest of his vehicle.

But Weaver said he "completely forgot" about the gun after taking a phone call that set him slightly behind schedule.

A Blount County School Board representative testified that Weaver did not have permission to bring the gun to school.

Weaver was fined $100 for each conviction, plus costs, and he must surrender his pistol permit and can no longer work as a substitute teacher.

“I’m so sorry it happened," Weaver told AL.com shortly after the incident, "and I hope those kids have no memory of it after time passes."