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Boy accused of bringing toy gun to Niles school
Updated: February 18, 2013 1:16AM
NILES — Parents of children attending Mark Twain Elementary School in Niles were notified this week after a toy gun was found inside a locker belonging to a second-grade student, officials said.
The empty cap gun was located inside the boy’s backpack which had been stored in his locker Monday at school, 9401 Hamlin Ave. The locker was searched after students reported that they believed a student had brought a gun to school, an e-mail to parents stated.
A school policy prohibits students from bringing any weapons or look-alike weapons into the school building, said East Maine School District 63 Superintendent Scott Clay. Cap guns are toy guns which produce a sound similar to a gunshot when fired.
The boy’s parents were notified, but police were not contacted, Clay said.
“Because of his age we didn’t feel that any malice was involved,” the superintendent told Pioneer Press. “He didn’t point it any anybody or anything. He brought it to show his friend.”
Clay stated that if the student had been older, he could have faced possible expulsion from school, but a decision was made not to pursue that type of disciplinary measure in this case.
A school social worker spoke with primary-grade students to “assure them that there was not a real gun in the school and that no one was in physical danger,” the e-mail to parents stated.
