LAS VEGAS - An 11-year-old boy is in custody after accidentally firing a stolen handgun at a Las Vegas school. No one was hurt.

Authorities tell the Las Vegas Sun newspaper that the student fired the gun Wednesday as he reached into a backpack, shooting a hole in a desk.

Clark County School District police say the boy was getting ready to leave school when the .45-calibre gun went off in a classroom. Cpt. Ken Young says staff members immediately separated the boy from other students.

Young says it's not clear where the boy got the gun, but he and the firearm's owner don't appear to be related.

The boy is being held at a juvenile detention centre and faces several charges, including felony possession of stolen property.