BILLINGS — A loaded pistol magazine discovered at Orchard Elementary School in Billings has left parents worried after they say they weren't immediately notified.
The ammunition magazine, which was filled with bullets, was found Wednesday around 5:15 p.m. near the gym. Law enforcement was immediately contacted, but school staff weren't made aware of the discovery until Thursday around 7 a.m.
Watch two parents talk about their concerns:
"It doesn't make sense. It's completely scary. It's terrifying," said Princess Bigman, who has four children attending the school, Thursday.
Related: Loaded ammunition magazine found at Billings school
Bigman and Joel Morales learned about the incident from another parent rather than official school communication.
"We had to hear it from a parent, not from the school, that there was this clip with the loaded bullets in it," Morales said.
The couple kept their children home Thursday due to safety concerns.
"We were highly concerned because, where is part A to this gun? You know, how long was this fully loaded clip in the school?" Bigman said.
School District Safety and Emergency Management Coordinator Joe Halligan said staff immediately secured the magazine upon discovery. However, the timing of the incident created communication challenges.
"It was immediately taken by the staff member and secured," Halligan said. "At that moment, obviously, school's not in and so we weren't able to, like we were not made aware of it until this morning at about 7 o'clock."
Parents say they weren't notified promptly about the situation. When Morales called the principal for information, she was told parents should have received notification.
"I had to call them and confront the principal of what's going on. Why weren’t we notified? And she said we should have got a notification, but we didn't. And we always do," Morales said.
Halligan said parents were informed Thursday morning once school officials learned of the incident.
"We had messaging out to parents within about 30 to 45 minutes of finding out that this actually happened last night," Halligan said.
Law enforcement is continuing to investigate, and there is no ongoing threat, according to Halligan.
"We just don't appreciate how this serious of a situation was handled," Bigman said.
