Outrageous! A 5 year old was detained and questioned at his school for taking a toy gun to show his friend. He was so…

REDK, just so you know if your kid brought a real gun to school, I can promise you that you will be not be the 1st notified.

I live in the town where the kid who brought his parents gun to school and accidentally shot his classmate. You will get notified, but by the cops. The cops will notify at the same time as they are pressing charges on you as that is what happened to the boy's parents who brought the gun.

Good luck with that scenario.

PS I'm pretty sure they are still battling this out in the courts as well as the kid now has a mark on record and this was last school year.

It may be just a toy but if they let kids bring their toy guns to school it's only a matter of time before a kid brings a real gun to school and someone gets hurt.

@bicki really? He's FIVE. We're not talking about a grown person here. I'm well aware (Grown ppl) use and have used toy guns to kill, rob, etc. but like I said, this boy is FIVE.

Did you all see the gun you can print off a 3-D printer?

Just asking.

I know this isn't kid related... mostly. but people use 'toy' guns to commit crimes all of the time. people get shot by police for pretending they have a real gun. it may be a toy but it has absolutely no place outside of the kids home.

(please don't say I'm suggesting this kid will rob somebody, it's just a general statement)

alright instead of making another post I'm just to repeat what I've said... it may be a toy but it has absolutely no place outside of kids home.

And please, since many years ago, toy guns have been the number one thing for little boys. Hence, cops and robbers. Now something as stupid as biting your sandwich into the shape of a gun is getting little kids in trouble? Like come on. That's ridiculous. What is he gonna do, shoot you with his gun shaped sandwich. Be for real. That's why they have METAL detectors in schools now... So they can monitor REAL gun process... Not toys, pop tarts, and sandwiches. Smh

For everyone having a heart attack... For Christ sakes, it was a freaking TOY!!! A toy. Smh

If that was Bentley, I would agree, action needs to be taken, but I would raise utter hell if something like that happened to my child and I was not notified right away.

They should have called the parents right away with him being only 5. Poor little guy :(. They should absolutely take it seriously, and let the parents know he will be suspended if he brought one again. Geez!!

does anyone remember a few months ago when the kid got in trouble for biting his poptart into a gun shape? and he was detained and handcuffed... THAT was handled inappropriately.

In my opinion the school did what they should have by keeping the boy but probably should have called the parents sooner. I also agree with the punishment change though (10 days for 5yr old seems much).

The other day a little boy made his sandwich onto the shape of a gun and got in trouble. It made national news.

It's every week where schools are starting to lack in common sense.

A little girl had a hello kitty bubble gun blower that made national headlines for bringing it to school.

Toy gun people. A toy. Not real. Pretend. A harmless play thing. It seems there's confusion between a toy and the real thing.

I honestly applauded the school for taking action. However the only thing the school did wrong was not notify the parents immediately. What is a school supposed to do say oh I know Johnnys harmless but Sarah's not so she needs to be punished. No the rules have to be the same for everyone. Each parent is given a copy of the handbook each year and has to sign a paper stating they have gone over it with their child, so his parents were informed of the consequences before hand. Also with how many school shootings their are I an glad that more districts are taking this stance. If you've been in a situation that was considered real by the administration, staff, and law enforcement you would probably be happy for a little over reaction than preventing what could have happened.

And yes if this was my son I would be livid for only two reasons one being I wasn't notified immediately and two at my son bring something he knew he shouldn't have to school. I wouldn't be like Kylers 5 cut him some slack, when it's my job as a parent to teach him and guide him in the right direction. That includes making sure he knows what is appropriate and inappropriate to bring to show friends.

Yaya, I want to like every one of your comments!

Here is part of the article I found about this:

A kindergartner who brought a cowboy-style cap gun onto his Calvert County school bus was suspended for 10 days after showing a friend the orange-tipped toy, which he had tucked inside his backpack on his way to school, according to his family and a lawyer.The child was questioned for more than two hours before his mother was called, she said, adding that he uncharacteristically wet his pants during the episode. The boy is 5 — “all bugs and frogs and cowboys,” his mother said.“I have no problem that he had a consequence to his behavior,” said the mother, who asked that her name be withheld to protect her son’s privacy.“What I have a problem with is the severity,” she said, and the way it was handled.The family’s attorney appealed the suspension late Thursday, asking that the action be reversed and the child’s record be expunged.If the punishment stands, it would become part of the boy’s permanent school record and keep him out of classes the rest of the school year, the family said. He would miss his end-of-year kindergarten program at Dowell Elementary School in Lusby.(…)The mother said the principal told her that if the cap gun had been loaded with caps, it would have been deemed an explosive and police would have been called in.The child’s disciplinary referral said he was being suspended for possession of a look-alike gun.The child’s mother is a high school teacher in Calvert who said she strongly supports the school system and loves the teachers at her son’s school. She and her husband, who coaches youth sports, are active community volunteers.For the family, a major concern is the long period the 5-year-old was questioned without parental guidance or support. His sister was questioned, too, she said.“The school was quite obviously taking it very seriously, and he’s 5 years old,” she said. “Why were we not immediately contacted?”

I don't want my children be be wussies and that is what this country is becoming fill of. My children will know the difference between real and fake guns. My husband is a Marine so there will be firearms in our home but only under lock and key. I've made a comment like this before and a commentor said she would be afraid of her child playing with my child over our house. I ain't going to announce to children that we have guns. But our children will know basic gun safety and handling skills. What do you think this country was based off of? The right to protect ourselves. Its the second amendment folks that's how important it is to our society. Now the media wants you to believe that people who want to protect themselves are bad people. Sorry, not having a gun around while someone is trying to rob you as you wait for the cops is not my thing. By the time they get there your @&& is grass.

I would be pissed if they did this to my child. Someone needs to call me if there was a problem. That is my job as a parent. If you don't agree then you are another blind sheep waiting for Big Brother to slowly take those rights as well.

My God that's horrible. That's how violence starts in my opinion. Kids getting in trouble for something RIDICULOUS and they no longer try to maintain a clean record Bc wtf cares. Schools are so f ing stupid!!!!

*parents

For one, schools can question kids without a parent present. He wasn't arrested and being i interrogated by the police. I am literally lol'ing at the people that think its illegal to question him without his parents present because he's a minor.

While I do think that his parents should have been notified sooner, I don't think we have enough information to really determine what happened that caused the school to react the way they did.

Yes it was a toy gun but how do you think so many kids end up accidentally being shot. Too many parents think nothing of giving their kids toy guns because to the parents they're just that, toys. However they neglect to teach them the difference between a toy gun and a real gun. So when their kid comes across a real gun he thinks its a toy like he's used to and that's when people get hurt.

the bigger concern is that the child has rights that were violated. police can't question a child without patents being present. also while zero tolerance works in theory it also creates a school to prison pipeline that is a very serious consequence.

I think the school took it too far. The boy was only 5 I doubt he meant any harm.

When I was in middle school I was walking to school when some older high school guys walking past me pointed a gun (I'm guessing a toy gun) at me & laughed. I was terrified & ran the rest of the way to school where I went & told the counselor. The only thing that happened was they got lectured & they had to apologize to me, that was it.

A 5 year old should get a lecture and a time out so he understands why it's wrong but being questioned for 2 hours & suspended is doing too much....poor kid.

Expelled!? Wow!

My son was EXPELLED from 1st grade, also 5 years old for DRAWING an army man with a gun. And this was in 2002. Most schools have adopted a ZERO TOLERANCE policy when it comes to guns. Even motioning your fingers in a fashion to look like a gun comes with similar consequences. So Im not surprised at all.

that's sad, I feel bad for the kid...

but they have to start taking these kinds of things more seriously.

I don't understand why they didn't notify the parents immediately.

also, I get that some ppl give kids real guns early (not something I agree with but it's their right) but guns are NOT toys and I definitely wouldn't give my kid a toy gun let alone allow him to take it to school.

The teacher should've taken the gun, talked to the boy about why we don't bring them to school and then called the parents and reminded them of the rules. The end!

He is a FIVE year old!!! I can't believe ppl are applauding the school for 'talking' to this boy for 2 hours allowing him to pee his pants!! That is a travesty! There is a long road from toy gun to school massacre! And whoever said kids should know about school shootings is nuts!! My boy would never want to go to school if he knew about that! Kids are innocent! Let them be kids! And yes I know that some kids aren't 'innocent' but let's not punish them all and shock them out of childhood because a VERY VERY small percentage of kids are disturbed!

I would be livid if that was my son!!

Rayven, make sure it's off his record!

I absolutely hate the system. They locked my son up for 3 days in juvi based on false accusations. We saw it through to trial court and my son was found innocent. These idiots jump to conclusions based on some kids word against my sons..they don't follow protocols anymore. Its a shame.

I went back and filed a complaint on how the school handled the situation. But I don't think they will do anything about it unfortunately.

If the school was correct they would not have backtracked on the child's punishment. There is a separate hearing to assess how the school handled the situation. That would not be happening if there was no doubt it was handled correctly.

There are more school shootings now when they don't allow toy "guns" than 20 years ago when you could chew your pop tart into the shape of a gun without getting suspended.

There is no reason for him to get in trouble for that.

This is part of the reason that people are so afraid of guns, because kids are taught to be afraid of TOY guns. Smh.

Thank you B for not flipping on me! Ive seen a lot of crazy things at my job that people would be very surprised parents do and say. It can be pretty rough. But yeah this situation is a lot of unknown and who are we to think we have the correct answer for everything.

And to anyone else: there are way more good teachers and principles and law enforcers than bad. But I'm sure if this were a corrupt situation there would only be one or two adults involved. This was a combination of school officials and law enforcement officials. The likelihood of some sick corruption going on is so far fetched its not even funny. Parents these days have ridiculous expectations from teachers and schools. Honestly Ive gone home crying from work before from rude and irresponsible parents. We aren't there to torture your children! We are there to help them grow and learn! We are not paid enough to deal with some of the crazy things parents do lol

Alright, B! It's settled! Am I going to you or are you coming to me? Fair warning: Texas summer is brutal!

That's the problem in schools today... Teachers ASS-uming every child who gets called to the principal, has had a terrible abusive past and just wants to rape and shoot up all the other students...

Again, why are you now adding past behavior problems into the mix? Shouldn't this incident stand on its own? And I'm pretty sure these are involved parents since they are outraged at their son's treatment and taking every opportunity to protect him and other kids that may be treated in this manner.

What is the world coming to, couldn't agree more with OP

Totally off topic. B, I saw the picture you posted, and I'd rather be in your body! You're beautiful! Wish we could meet! Does that sound like I'm hitting on you? What would my hubby say?!?

My point I was trying to make was that we only know he brought a toy gun and showed his friend. Perhaps this child has a history of poor behavior and perhaps the parents were like the ones we deal with from time to time. We are actually a small town school and our kids are amazing, but every now and then you run into a bad egg.

Yes, I see the point that it is bad if this was an isolated event from this child, but I know first hand the bizzare and ludicrous things kids do because of bad parental influence. Plus, I feel sympathy for the school because there are parents out there who way over react and make our job as authorative figures next to impossible. We cant even let the kids run on the playground equipment because we could be sued if they trip and break a tooth.

I'm all for being a protective momma bear, but we just don't know the full details. This is the police and a school. I think they are well aware of this child's age and are using the best discretion and judgement they can to protect the community. 5 year Olds wet their pants frequently, especially if this child comes from a home where he was potty trained very late. He could still be learning. There is nothing that says his urination was caused from fear.

We cant always call the parents immediately if we are still dealing with the event itself. However, yes. If they had the time to call the ppolice then they had the ttime to notify his parents. I believe that is their only flaw.

I understand the extreme measures. They pretty much made an example of him.

But the parents should have been notified.

But the parents should have not let that kid take a toy gun to school, especially the way schools are crazy about guns now.

The parents are at fault as well.

B, you said what I wanted to before I got the chance. How do you read my mind?!?

The should have firstly notified the parents first. But you never know anymore. Even with little kids. They DO know better at five years old. The school has to protect there students

Okay, 5 years old or not and all "what if's" aside. This was a TOY gun! Talk to him and his parents about it, tell him he can't bring toys like this to school ever again and if you feel it necessary "punish" him.

DO NOT question an innocent child, yes innocent, for TWO hours because he didn't know any better! How sad. I would be LIVID! Parents may not always be the best help but it is illegal to question a child without an adult present. That is ridiculous.

I do, however, agree with searching my LO's bag before he gets on the bus or out of my car.

One thing to point out from my experience: we have a kindergartener who was suspended for innapropriate and violent behavior. He was walking up behind little girls, choking them as he made humping motions, and whispering "I'm going to suck milk from your breasts when you grow up". This was a 5 year old as well.

None of you know the boy with the gun's particular history and behavior or home. Sometimes scare tactics are necessary. Also, the boy we suspended... we called his parents and they LAUGHED and insisted we let him go back to class. "He's only 5." Was their reasoning. Parents aren't always the best help in these situations.

While I think it is asinine to do what the school did about suspending the child, I do understand that somewhat... Even though it is a toy gun, with all the school shootings now a days the school is between a rock and a hard place for dealing with situations like these.

As for not notifying the parents until two hours later and having him sit soiled for so long... I would throw a hissy fit and heads would be rolling. Proper steps were not taken when it came to questioning the 5 year old.

In the end : the little boy did nothing wrong. The school's staffs' actions were border lining child abuse and emotional distress of that child.

End of story.

I get these zero tolerance policies in theory. I get the thinking that everything needs to be fair across the board no matter who does what. I just don't understand how these zero tolerance policies can include things like this. Why couldn't the rule be you may not bring a gun (real or fake) to school to threaten, scare, harm or otherwise intentionally disturb students or staff? Then again, I guess it's because a kid could "play innocent" to avoid consequences. But this just seems sort of silly to punish this 5 year old for.

I think the school over did it a little... BUT I'm glad they didn't just brush it off either. I think over 2 hours of questioning is WAY harsh. However, taking serious aaction against shootings is important. That's probably how I would expect a school to handle a fifth grader that brought a toy gun but not a five year old. Working at a middle school, hearing all these school shootings is terrifying! But a kindergartener doesn't know a whole lot. Also we don't know the complete details. I know that there are some kindergarteners who have the attitude of 4th graders and come from drug filled and violence exposed homes and because of that they reflect that behavior at school. I trust that this particular school had valid reasons for treating this situation the way they did. Its a circumstance we don't fully know.

So we should punish behavior before it happens? That's a dangerous road your walking down...

So we should punish on what ifs??

Its a weak argument until it actually happens...I'm not saying that the school wasn't wrong but nowadays u can never be to sure

He wasn't threatening anyone!!! He was showing a friend his toy. And it's ridiculous to punish him because he might have come with a real gun the next day. That is a very weak argument.

That's child abuse making that little boy so scared he wet his pants and then making him sit in it pretty much as punishment. When the f*** did the CIA start training our teachers how to use scare tactics on our children?!

I'd do all I could to have everyone involved asses on the line.

I see alot of y'all keep saying it was a toy gun...U have no idea what his intentions where even if it was plastic...He could have been threatening another child with it...Was the school wrong? in my opinion yes and no...They should have called his parents right away true...5 year holds are smart today a toy gun tomorrow he woulda showed up with a real one...Then it woulda been to late

It's a toy gun!! Kudos to the school for what exactly? Preventing a mass shooting by water or invisible bullets? Instead of telling the young boy that his toy is unacceptable and calling the parents they decided to treat him like a criminal. My 6 yr old doesn't know about Sandy Hook. Why? Because it's his first year in school and I don't need to traumatize him into not wanting to go to school. He plays with toy guns all the time. He thinks he either shooting zombies or being a marine. Should his innocence be corrupted because of some crazy person? If a lil girl brought in her Barbie, would she also be suspended? No. A toy gun is just that, a TOY! The school should have handled that situation more appropriately.

It happened in Maryland. Same as the pop tart gun incident.

Wait, is it even legal to question a kid without a parent present???

What state did this happen in?

yes, I think it is great that schools are being proactive on this issue, I really do. But, I think some schools go to far. Since the December shooting kids have been suspended for making a gun with their hands, making a gun with a pop tart, drawing a gun on paper, a water gun, hello kitty bubble maker gun, playing cops and robbers...

Did all these kids deserve to get suspended? No not really, maybe a talking to about how we keep these things at home but a suspension...no.

Now, this poor 5 year old probably had no idea that guns especially toy guns were not allowed at school. Remember he is just starting school, learning the rules that come with the school. Did he deserve a talking to yes, but no to interrogate him, making him scared off both school officials and possibly the police. And yes, if that happened to my child I would be furious at the school for not calling me first, I might go as far as sueing them because I was not informed. He is a minor, and he had no adult with him.

So should we now ban the production and sale of toy guns as well?

Sh*t idgaf if my child brought a real gun to school, my @ss better be notified before he's talked to anyone. Oh no, I'd be livid.

"Back in my day" we played cops and robbers, and G.I Joes. Which yes we used our plastic little Nerf guns, and water guns and we all sat around talking about it and.nobody got hurt. My son will be allowed to play those games to. And just like in my house growing up, we don't actually point them at anybody outside of the game and my parents taught us how to set them down and handle them properly. Because guess what, on the weekends we shot at the range, from the time I was 4. I knew guns were a serious thing. But we still got to PLAY. If I hadn't been outside with my friends playing those games, I would be stuck inside eating junk food and sitting on my butt getting fat like most kids these days. Let your kids be kids people. The only way this would've been acceptable would be if this kid had a real gun. Dang this made me mad

Obviously a five year old thinks of a gun as a toy u play with not something that hurts and kill people. Unless they have been trained in using guns by then and gun safety which most children haven't been but some have. Hes a boy those are a toy they make for boys it woul have been like bringing a toy Dino to school for him he had no idea he was doing something wrong.

I do understand that the school can't take this lightly but the boy should have been removed from class gone to the principals office and have his parents called immeiately before any police were involved. I would remove my son from the school for something like this. To terrify a child to the point he wet his pants is just sickening.

They need to hold an assembly that is age appropriate stating that weapons toys or not of any kind will not be tolerated in school. And then state the actions and consequences that will be taken and why it's wrong. To them it's a toy this is wrong on so many levels. I would certainly give my son a talking-to though and explain though it's a toy it's still a dangerous weapon when my sons old enough to understand (if I even let him have toy guns), that u never aim at someone toy or not and they are only for at home u bring them no where with u bc the world is crazy. I'd rather just not have them.

What exactly does "zero tolerance" entail? Not contacting parents? Scaring the child so he pees in his pants? Not contacting the parents immediately before questioning the child is criminal in my eyes.

First off it is sad when children can't play cops and robbers or cowboys and Indians because in their post they shoot each other.

I played that all the time, I have no want or need to shoot someone.

I had a cap gun that I use to shoot constantly.

Damn my dad use to bring a knife to.school in case anyone started anything with him. He pulled it on a kid once who tried stealing his things. Nothing happened to him.

It's just crazy how small things that use to be a part of.my childhood would have my child questioned and terrified.

Is be livid if that happened to my dd. I would make sure they knew next time they questioned my dd like that I best be there and if they're going to take it that seriously I will bring a damn lawyer with me.

I feel terrible for that poor boy.

I have mixed feelings about these policies that leave no gray area. I can't believe they didn't inform his parents. That is beyond appalling.

I'm appalled that the school is being defended here! It was a complete and total overreaction. I choose not to live in fear of "what if". The fact is, it was a toy gun and no harm could possibly have occurred from his having it. Had it been a real gun, then the situation would have been entirely different. This was a kindergartener with a play toy. Not a homicidal kid bent on a rampage. There was a lesson that the child could have learned about why we don't bring such items to school, but that lesson has been completely lost and the child is now traumatized. How is this an environment conducive to learning? Like I said, I'm planning on homeschooling, so thankfully, you won't have to worry about my son showing off his toy to your child.

Obviously a five year old thinks of a gun as a toy u play with not something that hurts and kill people. Unless they have been trained in using guns by then and gun safety which most children haven't been but some have. Hes a boy those are a toy they make for boys it woul have been like bringing a toy Dino to school for him he had no idea he was doing something wrong.

I do understand that the school can't take this lightly but the boy should have been removed from class gone to the principals office and have his parents called immeiately before any police were involved. I would remove my son from the school for something like this. To terrify a child to the point he wet his pants is just sickening.

They need to hold an assembly that is age appropriate stating that weapons toys or not of any kind will not be tolerated in school. And then state the actions and consequences that will be taken and why it's wrong. To them it's a toy this is wrong on so many levels. I would certainly give my son a talking-to though and explain though it's a toy it's still a dangerous weapon when my sons old enough to understand (if I even let him have toy guns), that u never aim at someone toy or not and they are only for at home u bring them no where with u bc the world is crazy. I'd rather just not have them.

Coming from a mother with 2 boys, if that had happened to my kids I would have flipped!! I don't allow my kids to own toy guns to begin with cause I just don't like them never have never will. How do they not call the parents right away. And questioning a child to the point that they scared him so bad that he pee himself is horrible. What did the school get out of scaring the crap out of the kid? Nothing but angry parents really. I do think the kid should have been reprimanded but I think they should have handled it differently and should have called the parents immediately

Wtf?! Only in America...

I had a friend who's 7 year old was planning on going to school and stabbing some kids who had been picking on him...Had she not gone thru his bookbag that morning who knows how many kids he would have stabbed.. Point being u have to search your kids bookbags before and after school now...School used to be a safe place but now u constantly have to worry bout if something is gonna happen to your child while they are there

I can relate to this story. Just this year my 5 year who is in preschool was so excited he won a WATER GUN at the town carnival that the next day at school he was talking to some of his classmates about shooting his water gun. The teacher flipped out!!!! When I came to pick him up she gave me an ear full on teaching my son what is appropriate and not appropriate topics for school... Mind you my son is not the typical 5 year old in that he has severe learning disabilities so his comprehension is that of a 3 1/2 year old. "Yes son be excited that you worked hard at game and won something you wanted but just know you can't talk about it" unreal....

I fault the parents though...Or am I the only one who goes thru my child bookbag every morning...Toy gun or not and being 5 or not the school handled the situation appropriate...Never know these days he may have came back with a real gun the next day...School shootings have no age and where I'm from parents teach there kids how to shoot guns by the age of 3...

I wonder what kind of questions they asked him during the 2 hour long interrogation. Did they play good cop bad cop? Offer him a cigarette? Have a bright light shining on him?

I mean, what is he supposed to explain? For 2 hours.

Now this is just sad:-(! If this was my kid they would need those cops there so I didn't woop some school official's ass! Scaring that little boy so bad he peed his pants! That is sick! They should feel ashamed and they are just being bullies!

didn't a third grader accidentally shoot his female classmate last year?

toy gun or not, the only thing the school messed up on was not notifying the parents immediately.

if it was my son, I'd be upset about not being notified, not because he peed his pants. the kid was in trouble. kids get scared when they're in trouble.

some kids pee their pants when they're scared.

That's like the 5 year old girl that got "detained" for pointing a Hello Kitty bubble gun at a little boy

A five year old..no way. I would be livid if I were this boys mother and I wasn't notified.

Was this the tiny Lego gun no bigger than a quarter? I agree anyways too extreme for a 5 year old. Poor guy.

Would you parents applauding the school feel the same way if it had been your child? And you're honestly going to tell your 5 year old that children are being shot and killed in school? Why would you take away their innocence so young?

I do believe the school has to be proactive. But the childs parents should have been called first and his age should be taken into consideration when handling this. I agree, he probably has never even heard of a school shooting!

Was I not clear that it was a toy gun? And the child is 5? His parents weren't notified and he wet his pants he was so scared? I understand that there needed to be a consequence, but this is going way too far. This child shouldn't be punished because of school shootings. He's 5, he probably has no idea there are school shootings. My 5 year old doesn't. I wouldn't traumatize him with that possibility then send him off to school. There was definitely a better way to handle it.

I understand why the school reacted that way however, they should've called his parents first thing.

considering the number of school shootings involving students (both accidental and intentional) I applaud the school for taking such a hard nosed approach.