GRANDVIEW, Mo. — Parents in Grandview have questions after a student took a gun to school.

They said the district didn’t notify them until five days after an arrest.

“We’ve been getting emails like that before, but it’s always been the day of,” Parent Kesha Canady-McGee said. “It’s never been that this happened last week.”

Grandview police said the incident happened on Thursday, but parents and community members want to know why they were notified Tuesday afternoon.

“I think there needs to be some level of communication,” Bishop Benjamin Stephens III said. “There has to be some honesty that happens by leaders.”

The district sent a statement to families that said “Grandview High School Families, we are learning of some concerns regarding a weapon recently found in our school and the lack of notification to our families. As a school district, it is important that we share information that pertains to student and staff safety and well-being. Because of the nature of some circumstances, there are times when we are limited in the information we will provide during or at the conclusion of an investigation.”

The statement went on to say “the information we share when a weapon is found on school property is driven by a variety of factors including the nature of the weapon, the intended use of the weapon, whether there was any threat or act of aggression involved, whether there was any safety risk to the school environment, whether the incident was passive or unintentional, and whether any extenuating circumstances exist. We make those decisions based on the totality of circumstances, with staff and student safety being our first priority.”

The school district said it partnered with the Grandview Police Department investigation, and at no time did police investigators report to them that there was any threat of imminent harm to the safety of students or staff.

“There were no other students around when the incident occurred. The weapon was quickly and voluntarily secured without incident, and the high school administration had no reason to believe there was a safety risk to themselves or others,” the district said.

The district said it’s prohibited by law from sharing any identifiable student or disciplinary information associated with the situation. “However, weapons of any kind are prohibited and appropriate action will be taken according to board policy and state and federal laws.”

“We want to make it clear that weapons have no place in our schools and will not be tolerated,” the district said.

“We want to be made aware of that,” Bishop Stephens said. “We want to be in the know of that information.”

FOX4 asked the Missouri Department of Education if districts are required to notify parents if a weapon is brought on campus.

FOX4 was told districts must have a policy that at least requires the local law enforcement agency to be notified, and in this case, Grandview did that.

Keep us informed,” Canady-McGee said. “I mean parents have a right to be informed on this.”

FOX4 also looked at the district’s board policy and it does not specify that parents need to be notified if a student brings a weapon on school property.