Ohio Boy Brings BB Gun To Elementary School To Scare Bullies (VIDEO)

Earlier this week Lisa Pfalzgraf, principal of Elmwood Place Elementary School in Cincinnati, Ohio called the police on a 10-year-old boy after he brought a BB gun to the school, WCPO TV reports.

Now the Associated Press reports the boy may have had his own safety in mind when he did it -- revealing the boy told authorities he brought the weapon to school to scare off bullies who teased him for being small and wearing ankle braces.

Despite his claims, the boy was charged with a delinquency count of inducing panic after one student told officials the boy said he'd shoot him if he told anyone about the gun.

CBS news blog Crimesider reports the unnamed boy remains in his mother's custody awaiting a hearing in Hamilton County Court. No date has currently been set.

While the St. Bernard-Elmwood Place School District said they intend to launch an investigation into allegations made about the other students, Emily McCarnan, a parent at the school, told WCPO she wishes the school had notified parents about the incident.

"It is nice to know what's going on," McCarnan told the station. "It is important to know especially if it is a gun. I don't care if it was a BB gun or if was one more lethal but it's nice to know."

The district superintendent told the station parents weren't notified because the incident occurred at the end of the school day.

Comments

[Marmelloz]

10:55 AM on 11/21/2012

This is exactly what I have been fearing for my son, who also wears braces. He's twelve now, but will be going to Jr. High next year. So far, it's been pretty much the same group of kids. One incident of mockery only in 7 years of public school. But, I fear, like some of my friend's kids with special needs, no one wants to acknowledge the kids complaints and when they fought back, the were suspended or expelled. Really? The cute little kid with no problems is always in the right? Because honestly, that's what it looks like. Little Miss Goody Two Shoes would never do that! That's what happened in BOTH of those instances. My kid gets depressed over not being able to be a regular kid, and he's also feisty. I'll have to watch that he doesn't try something like this. But, like the stupid other parent in this article, who was all worried about the bb gun being brought to school and no mention of the suffering of this kid, I will be watching how my kid is treated and how you discipline your kids bad behaviour towards my child, like a hawk! How dare other kids bring down the self esteem I've worked SO HARD to instill in my child. Really, parents should be looking at their own kids more and not thinking they're always little angels!

[luckycatp1]

10:03 PM on 09/13/2012

If a kid arms themselves because of bullying, chances are they think they're gonna die and have no choice that it'll still happen they'll still die even if they tell and that their only hope is that if the bully kills them that they'll be able to mark them up enough (trying to take them doewn with tem) that there'll be proof who killed them, its a last ditch act of desperation.
I know someone who was bullied all their life til high school then it got worse and they did something stupid and drastic. They got thrown and bodily held up against the wall by a kid like 100 pounds heavier and 2 inches taller then them and told if they walked down the same hall as them they'd kill them and they were positive they were gonna die 100% no doubts that their only choice was either die without fighting back at the bullies time of choosing or arm themselves wait for the bully and maybe go down fighting with the intention "If I'm gonna die I'm taking you with me is what they told me" they told the bully. So they waited confronted the bully and they were never bullied again. They were lucky they didn't get charged and only changed schools. but know this if a kid arms themselves over bullying the bullying is a matter of life and death not just some name calling or stealing their lunch.

[iowastate]

10:43 AM on 07/28/2012

once again the school is at fault for letting things get to this point.

[opei101]

06:28 PM on 06/22/2012

I mean really, what is wrong with bringing a gun to school?

[Kate Gunn]

11:00 PM on 06/29/2012

i totally hope you are being sarcastic...think Columbine and wake up and smell the roses

[smileydeesjays]

02:12 AM on 05/10/2012

He gets punished while the bullies are still in school bullying other kids. would they have prefered he kill himself like the Rachel Ehmke 13 years old that hung herself less than 2 weeks ago in Minnesota?

[chykim1]

03:06 AM on 04/25/2012

theyre lucky it was only a warning...i really think parents need to be more informed, when their child is being bullied, or if their child is the bully! so it can be shut down!! starts in the home..

[mad world]

11:15 AM on 04/23/2012

Kid is repeatedly bullied, school does nothing. Same kid brings a bb gun to school, school punishes child, prosecutes him while the bullies' parents gasp at the crazed child that almost shot their precious little mouthy brats.

[trishamorgan]

02:07 PM on 04/23/2012

That's the way it always is. He'll probably continue to be bullied by the same little brats, and no one will do anything about it.

[Stacy M]

11:30 PM on 04/26/2012

So true.

[ickymcpooh]

11:26 PM on 04/22/2012

I say hang them all.kids need to learn.

[jason thomson]

04:25 AM on 04/24/2012

"AK47, Magnum revolver, a 'nine', wanna know the solution to this problem of mine?
that's a whole school of bullies lined up & shot at one time" Marshal Mathers.

[mangez merde]

10:11 PM on 04/22/2012

This is what children learn from our NRA country.

To fight violence with violence.

To perpetuate the downward spiral that violence begats.

[fdd1901]

06:11 AM on 06/30/2012

It's also what they lean when they repeatedly report bullying and nothing is done

[XV8 Crisis Suit]

10:51 AM on 04/22/2012

Unless we address what makes a kid become a bully, our "War on Bullying" is just as doomed to fail as our "War on Terrorism" has.

[krvball24]

03:37 PM on 04/21/2012

Bullying is not a passive function. It is am active one. And not wanting to be on the same team or soot by the 'weird kid' is not bullying, that's not the same hurtful ostracism that occurs when one or more kids single out a weaker or smaller kid to harass them in order to intimidate or harm them intentionally. And social media and texting make it so it doesn't stop when the bell rings. Yes, this kids could have stood for it forever or come to another 'out'. Would it have been better if this kid had committed suicide?
And I'm notsaying my kids are incapable of bullying. I'm saying when I get wind of it occurring, whether by school or another parent or even another child in my kid's social circle, it WILL stop.

[Marmelloz]

11:03 AM on 11/21/2012

I love your stance. I have a younger special needs child, but when my much older one was in school, I always considered the possibility he was at fault for something and didn't turn a blind eye if he did. Also praised him for when he did something really nice.

[Redv14]

09:40 AM on 04/21/2012

I'd like to see the day when known bullies are treated the way this youngster was treated. I can't recall ever reading a story where the school officials called the police on a student who was bullying others.

[hawaiianstile]

05:29 PM on 04/20/2012

this is what the culture creates. you have a problem reach for the great cowards weapon, his parents should have told him to fight them like a man, then the bullying would stop AND he would learn important lessons of self reliance, confidence, and self esteem. but no the wrong way is just so much more convenient isnt it, nonsense.

[Caryn Banker]

08:15 PM on 04/20/2012

"who teased him for being small and wearing ankle braces".

"fighting like a man" is not going to be the answer for all kids. And maybe he didn't tell his parents. I found out my 11 year old was being bullied at boy scouts when I caught him packing a hunting knife to go on a camp-out, to defend himself from one of the other boys. He felt ashamed and never told us or anyone there was a problem.

From your first sentence, I thought you meant the principal was going for the coward's weapon by calling the police instead of just confiscating the bb and calling the parents. I'm not in the US, so I know I'm out-of-the-loop, but was she really afraid of a 'small, semi-crippled' 10 year old with a bb-gun?

[hawaiianstile]

05:32 AM on 04/21/2012

it is the only answer. i went to a k-12 school and got bullied by high schoolers in elementary, you dont have to win, only harm badly. hurt them, as badly as you can every time they start something, they will ALWAYS go find a less combative person to pick on. ankle braces and small stature dont stop him from breaking a nose, racking a face, biting out a chunk if needs be. i promise you if he began doing that every time bullies got physical, they would stop bothering him before too long.

[Snippert]

10:11 PM on 04/20/2012

Here's what happens when you 'fight like a man.' The guy just comes back with several buddies and blunt objects to beat you until you can't smell.

[hawaiianstile]

05:27 AM on 04/21/2012

really? your suggesting kids will beat someone to death with pipes in the middle of school? theres not much i can say but point out that that is utter nonsense.

[koos458]

02:44 PM on 04/20/2012

After my #2 son, slightly autistic, was bullied a lot at school, my wife signed us up for Karate classes. Cured the bullying problem and eventually I started my present career as a karate and jujitsu instructor. Worked well for my kid, but it's certainly not for everyone. Strangely enough, when he was getting the crap knocked out of him, he'd get suspended for fighting, but once things started going the other way, the school did nothing. Schools won't do a darn thing to help your kid. By the time he was a Junior, he had grown a considerable amount and had kicked enough butt where no one would mess with him. He's a USN GM2 special ops weapons specialist and will be going to a SEAL team this summer.

[Caryn Banker]

08:23 PM on 04/20/2012

Congrats to your son. Nice to see you are obviously very proud of his accomplishments!

[koos458]

12:29 PM on 04/21/2012

Thanks. He also had to lose 50 pounds before the Navy would take him. Certainly proud, but more amazed because all he ever did at home was sit on his butt unless I was cracking a whip over his head. Even numbered SEAL teams are based on the East coast and odd on the West. SEAL Team 2 is the one trained for artic conditions, FYI.

[Neontom69]

04:32 PM on 04/21/2012

I think the lesson to take from your example is, without being bullied he would maybe have grown up to be an average person of societal mediocrity. Instead, he faced and overcame adversity, learned from it, and used what he learned to become exceptional.
If my kid gets bullied, I hope I say "What can we learn from this incident, and how can we apply this lesson in the future? What have you really 'lost' son, and what have you gained?"

[hawaiianstile]

05:38 PM on 04/20/2012

what?! bullying hasnt "gotten bad" bullying is exactly as it has been since the dawn of our species, what has changed is how people DEAL with it, and THAT is what needs to be addressed. when people raised kids correctly bullies were dealt with by fighting back, showing them and more importantly ones self, that you are strong, that you are no weak link to be targeted. today though people opt to kill themselves or grab the great cowards weapon, or parents tell their kids to tell a teacher, everyone expects someone or something else to deal with the problem for them, WRONG! there is one very simple way to stop these bullying problems, and that is simply to deal with them properly. bullying is a natural part of being a human being, it will NEVER go away, and the more you fight nature its self the worse the problem will get. nature will tell you the answer to the problem, but westerners have no idea how to listen to nature and find the correct answers to their problems. little wonder the society and culture is in such a state of horrendous ruin.

[Justgo4it]

06:36 PM on 04/20/2012

really? use your brain, was Facebook around since the beginning of time, cell phones, sorry you're wrong, plus using your fists isn't better, your just lowing yourself to the bully's level. and the ruin is people with your animalistic thinking, because doing what you sad isn't making progress.