Posted on 02/04/2011 12:21:44 PM PST by grundle
A 7-year-old child allegedly shot a Nerf-style toy gun in his Hammonton, N.J., school Jan. 18. No one was hurt, but the pint-size softshooter now faces misdemeanor criminal charges.
Hammonton Police began an investigation into the “suspicious activity” at the Hammonton Early Childhood Education Center Jan. 18 after school officials alerted them to the incident.
The "gun" the child brought to school was a $5 toy gun, similar to a Nerf gun, that shoots soft ping pong type balls, according to the school's superintendent.
Officials also say that there was no evidence of anyone being threatened. The child's mother told school officials that she didn't know her son brought the toy to school.
Dr. Dan Blachford, the Hammonton Board of Education superintendent, said the school has a zero tolerance policy.
"We are just very vigilant and we feel that if we draw a very strict line then we have much less worry about someone bringing in something dangerous," said Blachford.
Deseire Gherard, a parent of one of the students at the school, agrees with the policy.
"I'd rather it be dealt with more severely than not," said Gherard. "I would rather them go a little bit too far for the safety of all the children then to say 'okay, it was probably nothing.'"
Police charged the 7-year-old with possessing an imitation firearm in or on an education institution – a misdemeanor and a minor juvenile offense in New Jersey.
School officials described the child as "a nice kid" and "a good student." Authorities haven't commented on what specific disciplinary action or punishment the boy faces though it could involve counseling and other resources made available to the family.
I see very bad things coming in the future from this zero tolerance policy crap.
Wisdom and discernment are difficult for many. On both sides of the political spectrum.
Maybe the kid was preparing to become a Muslim!
These anti gun policies disguised as “zero tolerance” really pi$$ me off. When my kids have friends over that have parents do not allow them to play with guns it is like they have toy gun deprivation. You practically have to pry the toy guns from their hands before sending them home. These are the type of kids that end up accidentally shooting someone because they have never been taught the difference between real guns and toy guns and have no respect for the real ones.
I must really be living in the past. WTH is the job of a school principal now? Must be to call the cops when s/he can’t handle the discipline of a seven year old. Seems to me that principal should have called the parent an emphasized guns of any kind are not allowed at school. sheesh
Wonder what "Doctor" Blachford's area of expertise is supposed to be.
It goes with being a cop these days.
>>>I see very bad things coming in the future from this zero tolerance policy crap.<<<
Me too. These teachers, principals, superindentdents and cops are just like Nazi judges and prison guards who claim they were “just obeying the law” or “following orders”. I HATE Nazi comparisons to anything, but I am totally comfortable making one in this case.
ALL of the adults involved in the arrest of the poor little boy are mentally unfit to live in society. This is SICK!
What ever happened to the teacher saying “I’ll take that and you can have it when you go home today”???
The leftist agenda in this area is to destroy the “gun culture” in America. They don’t like the idea of little boys liking guns and learning more about them.
I heard a teaser on NPR this morning that some universities are considering encouraging their students to pack a rod.
Not sure, but if you watch the video you will see that he is a blithering idiot. Besides defending this outrageous arrest, he seems to lack the ability to form a coherent sentence.
Good thing he didn't bring a real Nerf gun to class.
!!!! WARNING!!!!
Parents if you send your child to a collectivist government school they may become felons for life.
It already applies to adults in Minnesota. And anything here can be considered threatening, intimidating, racist, sexist, homophobic..........
This should have been handled by the school staff, not by the police. A little common sense by both sides, and this would not have been in the news.
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