Where did Bellamy get the first handgun?

In The 100 S01E01, the 100 kids have been sent to Earth to see if it was habitable by the Ark (12 space stations that linked together before the nuclear apocalypse happened to harbour over a thousand people in space), but when the kids finally landed they went rogue.

Later, when they are taking off the wristbands, they set to corner Wells at night, to do so, Bellamy has a handgun to show who has the power in that situation.

My question is:

If the Ark sent the kids down with a single handgun, what was the reason, and if the Ark didn't, where did Bellamy get the gun from?

Proof about the gun:

plot-explanation the-100

Best Answer

Season 1 spoilers.

We learn throughout season 1 flashbacks that Bellamy (as an Ark guard) tried to protect his sister from an impromptu ID scan, which failed, and got him demoted to a janitor position (episode 6, "His sister's keeper"). Later, his former superior, Commander Shumway, offers to put him on the dropship to Earth, provided he shoots Chancellor Jaha.

BELLAMY: What do I have to do?

SHUMWAY: Kill the Chancellor.

BELLAMY: How about I kill you instead?

SHUMWAY: Kill me and your sister goes alone to a radiation-soaked planet And you get floated like your mother. Ship launches in 20 minutes, Bellamy. If you're gonna do this, we have to leave. Right now.

Let's say five minutes to reach Jaha, five minutes to escape, five minutes for Shumway to explain why there's a new passenger boarding the ship, and five extra minutes for cover: between the timeline hinted at by the dialogue ("20 minutes"), the general confusion that must have ensued after Jaha was shot, and the secrecy around the kids being sent down, I think it's possible Bellamy kept the gun Shumway gave him.

Furthermore, the gun he used to shoot Jaha and the gun he had on Earth (here, taken by Wells in episode 2) look the same:

As per having guns in general, there weren't any other on the dropship, since Bellamy having a gun is seen as unique by everyone, including Clarke, who'd have searched the dropship for supplies/guns/gear. However, in episode 8 "Day Trip", upon raiding a military bunker, Clarke and Bellamy do find guns, rifles and the like, which they use against the Grounders.

Additional details from the books: in the first book, Bellamy holds the Cancellor at gunpoint, a shot is heard "off-screen", then the next chapter has the 100 already in the dropship. When they get to Earth and start settling, he hunts with a bow. I'd have to find an English version to include quotes, but I don't remember a mention of the gun being taken down to Earth. (which doesn't invalidate the show-based answer, though)