Desertdog
Member
School suspends boy, 5, for bringing gun
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/5622800p-5050122c.html
STACEY MULICK; The News Tribune
A 5-year-old Fircrest kindergartener, who got up on a chair at home, climbed on the washer-dryer and grabbed an old pistol from a cupboard, took the gun to school Monday.
The boy carried the unloaded .22-caliber weapon in his backpack to Whittier Elementary School and showed it to a friend on the playground, Police Chief John Cheesman said Tuesday.
The 5-year-old did not make any threats with the gun, which he eventually put into a friend’s backpack. He told the principal what he’d done and was suspended for 10 days, Tacoma Schools spokeswoman Patti Holmgren said Tuesday.
Police were called to the school at 777 Elm Tree Lane and confiscated the weapon.
Washington state law bans all guns, loaded or not, on school grounds. The law calls for a one-year suspension from school for any student who brings a gun onto a school campus, Holmgren said.
School officials were investigating the circumstances behind Monday’s incident and what should be done with the student beyond the 10-day suspension, Holmgren said.
Students, starting in preschool, are taught not to bring guns to school, she said. The boy’s classmates were reminded of that Monday and Whittier officials sent a letter about the incident home to parents.
Cheesman said it didn’t appear charges would be filed in the case. He credited the boy’s parents with trying to keep the gun out of the youngster’s reach and for not storing ammunition with it.
The boy now realizes he should not have brought the pistol to school, Cheesman said.
“There was an understanding there that he shouldn’t have done it and that what he did was wrong,” he said.
Stacey Mulick: 253-597-8268
[email protected]
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/5622800p-5050122c.html
STACEY MULICK; The News Tribune
A 5-year-old Fircrest kindergartener, who got up on a chair at home, climbed on the washer-dryer and grabbed an old pistol from a cupboard, took the gun to school Monday.
The boy carried the unloaded .22-caliber weapon in his backpack to Whittier Elementary School and showed it to a friend on the playground, Police Chief John Cheesman said Tuesday.
The 5-year-old did not make any threats with the gun, which he eventually put into a friend’s backpack. He told the principal what he’d done and was suspended for 10 days, Tacoma Schools spokeswoman Patti Holmgren said Tuesday.
Police were called to the school at 777 Elm Tree Lane and confiscated the weapon.
Washington state law bans all guns, loaded or not, on school grounds. The law calls for a one-year suspension from school for any student who brings a gun onto a school campus, Holmgren said.
School officials were investigating the circumstances behind Monday’s incident and what should be done with the student beyond the 10-day suspension, Holmgren said.
Students, starting in preschool, are taught not to bring guns to school, she said. The boy’s classmates were reminded of that Monday and Whittier officials sent a letter about the incident home to parents.
Cheesman said it didn’t appear charges would be filed in the case. He credited the boy’s parents with trying to keep the gun out of the youngster’s reach and for not storing ammunition with it.
The boy now realizes he should not have brought the pistol to school, Cheesman said.
“There was an understanding there that he shouldn’t have done it and that what he did was wrong,” he said.
Stacey Mulick: 253-597-8268
[email protected]
