Cross Lanes , Kanawha County , West Virginia

Kanawha County deputies stood guard at an elementary school after a gun was found nearby following an apparent domestic situation.

Gary Lacy, 35, of Cross Lanes is charged with wanton endangerment and domestic assault. He once worked as a corrections officer at the South Central Regional Jail. Now, he's an inmate there.

"It could have been a lot more dangerous than what it was," Cpl. John Ratliff said.

"We just got a call from the school; it was the principal. Just letting us know that the kids were safe and the police had taken care of everything," Point Harmony Elementary School parent Michelle Spencer said.

Deputies said the events started at the Kroger on Big Tyler Road when Lacy's wife agreed to meet him to let him tell the kids he loved them. The couple had apparently been having domestic problems that started earlier in the week when she claimed Lacy was destroying items in their home.

When he got out of the car, his wife said, she noticed a silver object in his pocket. Deputies said Lacy then grabbed the gun, and fired a single shot as his wife and the children were trying to flee.

Moments later, a deputy was flagged down as Lacy was headed straight toward Point Harmony Elementary.

"A citizen that was right behind him saw the weapon tossed out the window, and she helped in securing the weapon and keeping it safe until law enforcement could get there," Ratliff said.

Point Harmony parents got a call about what had happened, and deputies said there was no need for a lockdown. Deputies said Lacy was pulled over and arrested shortly after he ditched the weapon.

Spencer said she is glad police officers are close. "They sit out in the school zones in the morning and everything with the traffic," she said.

Deputies remained at the school for peace of mind as parents came to pick their kids up from a not so ordinary day at school.

Ratliff said officers are glad to lend a hand. "We're just here just to give reassurance to the parents. It never hurts for us to be seen. Just to make folks in the community feel better," he said.

Lacy was fired as a corrections officer after being accused of bringing contraband into the jail late last year. He is being held on a $25,000 cash only bond.

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A woman told Kanawha County sheriff's deputies her husband fired a weapon as she and her children fled a parking lot where they had met him so "he could tell the children he loved them."

Gary Arthur Lacy, 35, of Cross Lanes was arrested and charged with wanton endangerment following Thursday's incident, according to a news release from the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office.

Sara Lacy flagged down Cpl. J.A. Ratliff while he was near Andrew Jackson Middle School along Big Tyler Road. She had her two children in the vehicle with her and told Ratliff her husband had just discharged a firearm in front of her and her children, the release said. Gary Lacy was arrested by another deputy within a mile of the school.

The release said Sara Lacy had met her husband on the Kroger lot on Big Tyler Road in Cross Lanes, and when he exited the vehicle, she said she saw silver object hanging out of his jacket pocket. Deputies said Sara Lacy told them Gary Lacy removed the weapon from his pocket, and she and the children fled as he fired.

Deputies found a .380 caliber pistol on an embankment across Big Tyler Road from Point Harmony Elementary School.

In addition to the wanton endangerment charge, Gary Lacy also was served with a misdemeanor warrant for domestic assault that was the result of a separate incident between the couple, the sheriff's office said.

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Kanawha County deputies arrested a man they said shot a gun at his wife while children were standing beside her.

Gary Arthur Lacy, 35, of Cross Lanes was charged with wanton endangerment and domestic assault.

Kanawha County Sheriff's Cpl. Brian Humphreys told Eyewitness News that after Thursday's incident, Lacy dropped the gun in front of Point Harmony Elementary School in Cross Lanes. Deputies arrested him a short time later. He was arraigned in Kanawha County Magistrate Court and taken to the South Central Regional Jail.

This isn't the first time charges have been brought against Lacy. In December 2012, he was charged with offenses related to adults in custody. Lacy allegedly provided cigarettes for inmates at the South Central Regional Jail, where he was employed as a corrections officer, according to court documents.

Eyewitness News is following this developing story. Keep checking wchstv.com for updates.

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