The Hermitage police department is looking into how an 11-year-old student managed to get a gun into school on Monday. 

Superintendent Dan Bell said in a statement issued Tuesday that the district contacted police after two students said they'd been shown a gun by the 11-year-old while on the school bus Monday afternoon. 

Hermitage police determined that the child likely had the gun with them all day long in school before being taken by police. 

21 News has reached out to Hermitage police chief Adam Picirrillo to determine if anyone may face any charges in this incident, but have not heard back as of 1:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon .

In the statement from Bell, he encouraged parents to talk to their children about what happened with a focus on making them feel safe to come forward whenever they are aware of anything that could pose a danger. 

The district has an anonymous "Safe2Say" hotline where tips can be reported by calling 1-844-SAF2SAY or at safe2say.org. 

"Children make mistakes, their decision-making abilities are developing and the incident that just occurred is very serious and has serious consequences for the child and parent. Please make sure your children do not have any unsupervised access to firearms," Bell said in the statement. 

21 News has reached out to find out if any additional safety protocols will be in place in the future in the district, but have not gotten a response so far.