MERCEDES – A student in Mercedes faces charges after being caught with a knife in his backpack.

The incident happened Wednesday afternoon at the community recreational dome during an afternoon school program.

Mercedes Police Chief Olga Maldonado says the student was taken to the juvenile detention center while the investigation continues.

She says they’re working to find out why he had the weapon.

“A young individual went to the program director and reported that he had seen a young child with a kitchen knife in the bus,” she explains. “The director did approach the child and he admitted to having the kitchen knife and handed it to the director.”

Maldonado says they can only give limited information of the case because it involved a minor.

No one was reported injured.

She recommends parents double check their child’s backpacks before leaving home to avoid serious problems with the law.