A 10-year-old male student brought a loaded, .40-caliber handgun to Meadow Elementary School in Baldwin on Monday, according to police.

They say the child had the weapon in a bag when he arrived at school and brought it to class. An alert lunch monitor detected the gun.

"That young man was in the lunchroom, showing another individual something in a bag," says Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder. "The lunch monitor, while looking over, noticed the bag to be apparently heavy, went over, lifted up the bag, looked inside, saw what appeared to be a handgun."

The monitor then notified the principal. The boy was taken to the principal's office, and two school resource officers arrived at the building.

Ryder says there was one bullet in the gun's chamber and several more in its magazine.

The fourth-grader and his parents were questioned by police.

Authorities commended school workers for following protocol and averting a possible tragedy.

Earlier in the day, parents said they received a robocall and email about an incident at the school.

"The safety of our students and staff is always a top priority in the Baldwin School District," the email reads. "Our staff was made aware of the occurrence, the police were notified and the situation was rectified immediately. Due to confidentiality laws, we cannot disclose any further details."

Parents say they were terrified when picking up their kids Monday. They're calling for more security at the school.