Zero Tolerance Patrol: 10 Year-Old Arrested and Detained for Bringing TOY Gun to School

The thing was plastic and had one of those orange tips on the end of the barrel. Yet, overreacting administrators decided that the police should be involved in this grave threat to the safety of the other students. I think Glenn Reynolds’ assessment is accurate: sending your kids to public school is looking more and more like parental malpractice. (via Instapundit)

The boy, a fifth-grader at Douglas MacArthur Elementary School whose name is not being released, was charged as a juvenile with brandishing a weapon, police said.

He was also suspended from school, and Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Morton Sherman said further action is being considered, including expulsion.

On Monday, the boy showed the plastic gun to at least one other student during a bus ride home from the school. The 10-year-old did not point it at anyone or threaten to shoot it, but he neglected to mention that the weapon was fake, said Alexandria police spokeswoman Ashley Hildebrandt.

School officials said they learned about the incident Monday evening and immediately started investigating. Alexandria police spoke to school administrators Tuesday morning before the boy got to school.

When the boy arrived, authorities found the toy in his backpack. He was taken into custody, transported to a juvenile detention center for booking and then released to his parents, Hildebrandt said.

“The safety of our students is always our first concern,” Sherman said. “We appreciate the quick response and action by our police.”

The toy resembled a semi-automatic handgun, said police spokesman Jody Donaldson. It was silver and had a black handle. It also had a orange tip that went into the barrel, showing that no ammunition was coming out of it.

In light of current events involving schools and guns, Donaldson said police “do have a heightened sensitivity to any rumor or concern” about a student possibly having a firearm.

“Any time we get a call like this, we take it very seriously until we can determine the extent of the weapon — if it’s real or not — and what the student intends to do with it,” Donaldson said.

But some people said police and school administrators overreacted.

Really? Ya think? Brandishing a weapon? What weapon? It’s a TOY.

When are we going to start shaming and ridiculing these goofy school administrators who overreact to everything? Do we want them in charge of our children, these people who can’t think or reason for themselves, but instead go on autopilot and call the police when a simple stern admonition would do?

via Alexandria cops bust 10-year-old for bringing toy gun to school | WashingtonExaminer.com.