11-year-old had handgun and list of names at Michigan middle school (VIDEO)
by Jennifer Cruz September 19, 2014
An 11-year-old boy has been suspended and is awaiting possible further disciplinary action after he brought a loaded .25-caliber handgun to his middle school in Traverse City, Michigan, on Monday.
Local media reported the boy, whose name has been withheld due to his age, had the handgun tucked away inside his waistband. After several students saw the weapon, one student reported it to a teacher, who in turn told the Kingsley Middle School's liaison officer.
It was just after 2 p.m. when the officer and the school principal took the fifth-grader aside and questioned him about the firearm. The boy voluntarily gave up the gun, which he said he took from his grandfather's house on Friday.
The gun was loaded with a single bullet and no other weapons were found. The boy gave authorities conflicting reasons why he had brought the gun to school.
"This student brought the firearm to the school knowingly," said Grand Traverse County Undersheriff Nathan Alger. "He had shown it to students previously."
The boy was sent home and is currently under 10 days of suspension. The school board will meet next week to determine whether further disciplinary action is needed.
But two days after the incident, the boy's teacher discovered a list of names penned on the back of a homework paper handed in by the boy. The teacher contacted police about the list which, according to authorities, the title indicated was a list of people the boy wished to harm. Other than stating that the list was comprised of first names only, many misspelled, officials offered no further details about the content.
However, Kingsley Area Schools Superintendent Keith Smith did say that making sense of the list's content was difficult, also adding, "It's obviously not consistent with what was brought to school. A gun with one bullet doesn't line up with a list of names."
Nonetheless, Smith said such things must still be taken seriously and that is why the information was given to the police.
The boy told authorities that he had no intention of harming anyone when he brought the gun to school.
There has been no word on whether any charges will be filed.
Northern Michigan's News Leader
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