By Dan Wing and Natasha Brown

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Police were called to an elementary school in the Allegheny West section of North Philadelphia for reports of a student with a pellet gun.

Philadelphia school district spokesman Fernando Gallard says a 5th grade student at John G Whittier School was caught with a pellet gun in his backpack, and after being questioned by school officials, admitted accidentally shooting a classmate in the back of the leg.

But Gallard says the classmate didn’t even know he was shot by a pellet, and it didn’t leave a mark.

School officials say they were found out about the pellet gun when a student told his teacher that that same 5th grader who was armed with a plastic gun had threatened him.

There are no metal detectors in the district’s elementary schools, but Gallard says they wouldn’t have helped in this case.

Gallard says that parents can expect a letter from the school district with information on the incident.

John G Whittier School, a kindergarten through sixth grade elementary school, is located on the 3000 block of North 27th Street. According to a source, the school was not assigned a safety officer.