Darnell 'Dynasty' Young, Gay Student, Faces Expulsion For Firing Stun Gun To Fend Off Bullies

Darnell "Dynasty" Young, a 17-year-old gay student at Arsenal Tech High School in Indianapolis, Ind., is facing possible expulsion after he fired a stun gun at bullies he claims were about to beat him up, the Indianapolis Star reports.

According to the paper, Young said classmates frequently harassed him, at times throwing rocks and taunting him for dressing too flamboyantly. Chelisa Grimes, Young's mother, also told the paper that when she went to school officials to complain, they placed the blame on Young for being "openly gay."

The conflict came to a head on April 16 when six students allegedly surrounded Young, threatening to cause him physical harm. The Indianapolis Star then reports Young took out a stun gun his mother gave him, and fired it into the air to scare the students. The teen was handcuffed and now faces a hearing that will determine whether or not he will be expelled from the school.

Young's predicament isn't the first of its kind. Back in April a 10-year-old male student at Elmwood Place Elementary School in Cincinnati, Ohio, found himself in some hot water after he brought a BB gun to school to ward off bullies who allegedly teased him about his ankle braces.

Despite the unnamed boy's claims, he was charged with one delinquency count of inducing panic.

And in March, 17-year-old Asante Cotman, a junior at Charles City High School in Charles City County, Va., was suspended for three days after refusing school officials' order to remove the high heels he was wearing.

"I'm not advertising. I'm being myself," Cotman told WWBT-TV following the incident. "I want to be able to be a regular student. A gay regular student that attends CCHS."

School officials told the station the suspension was not discriminatory, but rather a safety issue, as Cotman's heels were 6 inches high.

Other school bullying incidents:

Loading Slideshow

• Cequan Haskins

  Chilling video of 10-year-old Cequan Haskins being viciously bullied on a school bus in May 2011 was <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/23/cequan-haskins-10-year-old-bus-bullying-video_n_1695719.html?utm_hp_ref=school-bullying">released publicly by the boy's mother at a press conference</a> in Appomattox County, Va. Video of physical and verbal abuse goes on for 40 minutes and includes racial and sexual slurs, as well as Cequan screaming as two 15-year-old boys allegedly hold a hot cigarette lighter to his skin.

• Nadia Ilse

  To ward off school bullies who began taunting her in the first grade for her ears, Nadia Ilse begged her mother at the age of 10 for an otoplasty -- an operation to pin her ears back. At the age of 14, Nadia was <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/28/nadia-isle-bullied-georgi_n_1712548.html?utm_hp_ref=school-bullying">granted her wish by the Little Baby Face Foundation</a>, a charity that provides free corrective surgery to children born with facial deformities.

• Isabella Lounder

  Isabella Lounder, a 7-year-old student with special needs, was afraid to return for her first day of school in the fall of 2012. Mother Nicole Lounder says Isabella, who has dwarfism, was ignored by school officials, wetting her pants numerous times after failed attempts to use toilets that were out of her reach. Students would also pick her up, hurting her arms, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/17/isabella-lounder-student-_n_1798770.html?utm_hp_ref=school-bullying">and she was once locked out of the school.</a>

• Indiana Teen

  A student from Franklin Township Middle School East in Indiana was arrested after a cell phone video of a vicious school bus fight was posted to Facebook in August 2012. The fight broke out <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/30/franklin-township-middle-_n_1843062.html?utm_hp_ref=school-bullying">when one student had taken a seat on the bus that another wanted.</a>

• Washington Teen

  A Washington state student was terrorized in a bullying attack by peers -- <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/30/john-rosi-washington-midd_n_1841998.html?utm_hp_ref=school-bullying">and at some points, by the teacher</a>. The incidents occurred in February at a Gig Harbor middle school. Cell phone footage shows more than a dozen students dragging the then-eighth-grade boy around the classroom, carrying him by his arms and legs, burying him under chairs, writing on his feet and stuffing his socks in his mouth. The antics last about 15 minutes while teacher John Rosi watches, and later joins in.

• Katie Uffens

  Katie Uffens left Westview High School earlier in 2012 and enrolled in a home-school charter program after she was told about the existence of a group called the “KKK” —<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/27/bullying-continued-for-sa_n_1919888.html?utm_hp_ref=school-bullying"> short for the “Kill Katie Klub.”</a> But the 16-year-old San Diego cheerleader who was repeatedly bullied by her peers says the taunting continued even after she dropped out.

• Dalton Fleenor

  Oklahoma high school junior Dalton Fleenor reportedly told another student -- while away from campus -- “What he did was a p---- thing to do,” referring to a fellow classmate. The next day at school, the classmate in question punched Fleenor twice in the back of the head. Both students faced suspension, as Newcastle High School <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/06/oklahoma-high-school-stud_n_1862748.html?utm_hp_ref=school-bullying">treated the incident as a case of bullying</a>.

• Whitney Kropp

  Whitney Kropp, a Michigan 16-year-old sophomore, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/30/community-lauds-victim-of_0_n_1927380.html?utm_hp_ref=school-bullying">was the victim of an apparent prank by classmates.</a> Kropp was named to the homecoming court of the 800-student school in the fall of 2012, but said she felt betrayed after some students suggested her selection was a joke. She said she had been picked on in the past, but it intensified afterward.

• Preston Deener

  Preston Deener, a sophomore at Brunswick High School in Maryland, was the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/10/preston-deener-brunswick-_n_1954821.html?utm_hp_ref=education">victim of a bullying attack</a> in October 2012 just as he was preparing for an on-camera interview with a local television station about his experience being bullied.

• Karen Klein

  Karen Huff Klein, a bus monitor for the Greece School District in Greece, N.Y., received an outpouring of support after a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/20/greece-school-district-bullied-footage-causes-outrage_n_1612925.html?utm_hp_ref=school-bullying" target="_hplink">ten-minute video of her enduring vicious bullying</a> while watching over students on a bus ride home was uploaded to YouTube.

• Stormy RIch

  Stormy Rich, an 18-year-old Florida student, says she was punished in May 2012 <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/28/stormy-rich-florida-high-_n_1551350.html?utm_hp_ref=school-bullying" target="_hplink">after reporting bullying of a special needs student</a> on a school bus, and standing up to those bullies when the school didn't take action.

• Rachel Ehmke

  Rachel Ehmke, a 13-year-old seventh grader in Mantorville, Minn., died April 29, 2012 after hanging herself at her home. The months leading up to the tragedy <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/08/rachel-ehmke-13-year-old-_n_1501143.html?utm_hp_ref=school-bullying" target="_hplink">were a whirlwind of peer abuse instances</a>, her parents say.

• Akian Chaifetz

  In April 2012, Stuart Chaifetz sent his 10-year-old son Akian to New Jersey's Horace Mann Elementary School wearing a hidden audio recorder, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/23/stuart-chaifetz-father-wire-son-records-teacher-abuse_n_1447330.html" target="_hplink">uncovering verbal and emotional abuse from his son's classroom aide and teacher</a>.

• Joel Morales

  Joel Morales, a 12-year-old student in East Harlem, New York City, hanged himself in May 2012 <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/31/joel-morales-hangs-self-bullying-dead-father_n_1559450.html?utm_hp_ref=school-bullying" target="_hplink">after bullies at school taunted him</a> for his size, intelligence and the death of his father.

• Darnell "Dynasty" Young

  Darnell "Dynasty" Young, a 17-year-old gay student at Arsenal Tech High School in Indianapolis, Ind., <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/02/darnell-dynasty-young-gay-student-stun-gun_n_1471921.html" target="_hplink">faced expulsion in May 2012</a> after he fired a stun gun at bullies he claims were about to beat him up.

• Oklahoma Student

  A 14-year-old student from Longfellow Middle School in Enid, Okla., <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/26/oklahoma-middle-schooler-seriously-injured-in-school-bullying-incident_n_1456356.html?utm_hp_ref=school-bullying" target="_hplink">was left seriously injured</a> and had to undergo surgery after an incident of bullying went too far.

• Corey Pingeton

  Cory Pingeton, an 18-year-old student at Franklin High School in Franklin, Mass., <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/30/cory-pingeton-high-school-student-sucker-punched-at-school_n_1465390.html?utm_hp_ref=school-bullying" target="_hplink">required medical attention</a> in April 2012 after an unnamed suspect viciously attacked him in the school's hallway. After fleeing the campus following the attack, the suspected assailant now faced criminal charges.

• Julio Artuz

  15-year-old Julio Artuz in November 2011 spoke out about his special needs teacher bullying him, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/16/julio-artuz-15-records-teacher-verbally-abusing_n_1097166.html?ref=school-bullying" target="_hplink">filming an encounter with the teacher at Bankbridge Regional School in New Jersey.</a>

• Ohio Boy

  A 10-year-old Ohio boy in April 2012 brought a BB gun to school <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/19/ohio-school-bb-gun-bullies_n_1438333.html?ref=school-bullying" target="_hplink">to fend off bullies.</a>

• Sawyer Rosenstein

  New Jersey student Sawyer Rosenstein received <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/18/nj-bullys-paralyzing-punc_n_1435176.html?ref=school-bullying" target="_hplink">a $4.2 million settlement</a> from the Ramsey school district years after a bully's punch paralyzed him for life.

• Female Students

  In March 2012, two female students from Mooresville High School in North Carolina were suspended after another student used her cellphone to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/22/mooresville-high-school-bus-bullying-video_n_1373894.html?ref=school-bullying" target="_hplink">film the girls viciously bullying a male student on a school bus.</a>

• Lennon Baldwin

  15-year-old Lennon Baldwin, a freshman at Morristown High School in New Jersey, committed suicide in April 2012, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/02/lennon-baldwin-15-year-old-commits-suicide-after-being-bullied_n_1398147.html?ref=school-bullying" target="_hplink">and police are investigating whether bullying was to blame.</a>

• David Pecoraro

  David Pecoraro, a math teacher at Beach Channel High School in New York, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/19/david-pecoraro-serial-spi_n_1287929.html?ref=school-bullying" target="_hplink">was reassigned to an administrative office </a>after video of him swatting at and spitting on a student surfaced online in February 2012.

• Kaleb Kula

  Kaleb Kula, a sixth grader with autism, was brutally beaten to the ground at his Maryland school bus stop in January 2012 while his peers stood by to watch -- <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/22/kaleb-kula-autistic-6th-g_n_1222068.html?ref=school-bullying" target="_hplink">and catch the act on camera.</a>

• Warren Lewis

  Warren Lewis, a Houston teenager accused of shooting a classmate in the leg at school, said in January 2012 that he was defending himself from a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/11/teen-in-texas-school-shoo_0_n_1200385.html?ref=school-bullying" target="_hplink">group of boys who had been bullying him.</a>

• Phoebe Prince

  A lawsuit brought by the parents of Phoebe Prince, a 15-year-old Irish immigrant in Massachusetts who committed suicide after relentless bullying,<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/28/phoebe-prince-bullying-la_n_1172755.html?ref=school-bullying" target="_hplink"> was settled for $225,000 in December 2011.</a> <strong>Correction:</strong> A previous version of this slide incorrectly stated the date of settlement.

• Restraining Order

  Kentucky mother Joy Furman claims her 9-year-old daughter has been bullied for two years at school, and seeks a restraining order against a fourth-grade boy she accused of tormenting her daughter, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/24/girls-mom-seeks-restraini_n_1450299.html?ref=school-bullying" target="_hplink">kicking her in the chest and chasing her with scissors.</a>

• Ashlynn Connor

  In November 2011, 10-year-old Ashlynn Connor hanged herself in her closet by a scarf, just a few weeks after she told her mother she was being bullied at Ridge Farm Elementary School in Illinois <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/14/ashlynn-conner-ten-year-o_n_1092683.html?ref=school-bullying" target="_hplink">and her mother denied the girl's request to be home schooled.</a>

• Kelly Chafins, Christy Wilt

  Kelly Chafins and Christy Wilt of Miami Trace Middle School in Ohio were caught on tape in the fall of 2011 <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/08/kelly-chaffins-christy-wi_n_1081980.html?ref=school-bullying" target="_hplink">verbally abusing a 14-year-old special needs student.</a> Chaffins resigned and Wilt was scheduled to undergo a probation period as well as eight hours of mandatory training in "how to recognize child abuse and stop bullying."

• Patty Fabian

  In October 2011, 15-year-old Patty Fabian was left with black eyes and a broken nose after <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/07/patty-fabian-15-year-old-bullied_n_1079761.html?ref=school-bullying" target="_hplink">a peer at Garland High School in Texas viciously assaulted her.</a> Video of the assault was posted on YouTube while Fabian was rushed to the hospital.

• Rebecca Arellano, Haileigh Adams

  In the fall of 2011, Rebecca Arellano was crowned Patrick Henry High School's first lesbian homecoming king. The next day, her girlfriend Haileigh Adams was crowned queen. Despite widespread support from the school and the couple's friends and family, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/01/rebecca-arellano-haileigh_n_1070436.html?ref=school-bullying" target="_hplink">the couple subsequently received waves of hateful phone calls and emails.</a>

• Nicolette Taylor

  In the fall of 2011, 13-year-old Nicolette Taylor from Long Island <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/12/nicolette-taylor-13-year-_n_1007371.html?ref=school-bullying" target="_hplink">decided to get plastic surgery</a> after enduring online harassment and name-calling multiple times a week because of the shape of her nose.

• Jamey Rodemeyer

  Taunted since grade school for hanging out with girls, 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer told his parents things were finally getting better since high school started. Meanwhile, on a blog his parents didn't know about, he posted increasingly desperate notes ruminating on suicide, bullying, homophobia and pop singer Lady Gaga. A few days later, he hanged himself outside his home in suburban Buffalo, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/29/jamey-rodemeyers-suicide-_n_987054.html?ref=school-bullying" target="_hplink">quickly gaining a fame like that described in one of his idol's songs. </a>

• Justin Aaberg

  15-year-old Justin Aaberg committed suicide in July 2010 after what his mother Tammy Aaberg says was relentless anti-gay bullying at his Minnesota school. Tammy Aaberg has since gathered signatures for a petition and marched to the office of her congresswoman, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/16/tammy-aaberg-mother-of-te_n_966455.html?ref=school-bullying" target="_hplink">Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann, to call on Bachmann to publicly address gay bullying.</a>

• Zachary

  When video of 15-year-old Zachary being beaten over and over again by a classmate went viral in October 2011, the school told the gay teen that he need to "tone [himself] down." The school's handling of the attack outraged Zach's mother Becky Collins, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/15/teen-speaks-out-after-vic_n_1095874.html?ref=school-bullying" target="_hplink">who couldn't understand why officials would say her son needed to change, instead of the bullies. </a>

Comments

[gnv978]

07:54 PM on 11/27/2012

As a conservative person, I do not hate gays. Only, God judges. I feel so very bad for what happened to Darnell Young. I found this out today at CNN.com. Even though, he is openly gay, at least, treat him with dignity and respect. When he was interviewed at CNN, he seems to be a very nice and a very friendly guy and I noticed that he is well-mannered. Bullying has to stop now. I prefer to be a friend with Darnell Young than the evil bullies. Those evil bullies are not better than him. May God protect Darnell Young and his family.

[dalaurya]

12:40 PM on 11/20/2012

Better this than him killing himself.

[jwfoust]

09:19 PM on 09/30/2012

People who bully, for whatever reason, are cowards at heart. These things have a way of turning around as you journey through life.

[HammyJ]

08:13 PM on 09/12/2012

A handsome black....I know youre a whole lot smarter, and better looking than your tormentors.....stay proud and dont let those #*&@%! get you down.....

[Johnny Rose]

03:25 AM on 08/23/2012

It's the adults, the politicians, the teachers, who are the first bullies. They promote hatred. In the minds of the bullies, they are doing the right thing hating on kids who are different. It's just sad.

[Jaroslaw]

08:17 PM on 09/04/2012

Johnny Rose - Brilliant observation, obvious yet we always forget. Children never care who they play with. Adults teach difference, non acceptance. THANKS for the reminder. And then of course, later on down the road, this division is used as in "divide and conquer" politically.

[kafe58]

03:16 PM on 07/29/2012

I once asked a friend what made him the way he was?I asked "Couldn't you change?" He looked me in the eye with his one open eye and said. Sometimes I wish I could. Why would a person choose to be this way when it makes people hate you for just being who you are. Why would you want to be something that causes people to spit on you, cuss at you, and beat you with in an inch of your life. ( he was assulted by 8 people,lost the sight in his eye, and 6 weeks of his life). He also said he is who he is, and I appreciate him for that. I doesnt sound easy.
We need to learn to appreciate peoplel for what they have to offer us in life even if it is a lesson in tolerance.If it aint about you forgetaboutit.

[patboyslim]

08:04 AM on 06/26/2012

So the school's planning to kick the guy out for defending himself while the bullies can continue to harass anyone. A really sick school system...

[kafe58]

03:16 PM on 07/29/2012

I see a law suit.

[brokerallen]

09:04 PM on 06/11/2012

Since the schools won't do anything to stop bullying a believe t6he student was well within his rights to defend himself. No one should be bullied. Especially someone who has no control over what he is being bullied for. Shame on the schools around the country who either tolerate or go easy on bullying.

[Alex Goncharenko]

06:11 AM on 05/10/2012

Psh, stun gun. Apparently there's a precedent where some guy stabbed a bully to death and wasn't charged with anything because he was considered acting in self defense.

When so-called "authorities" can't protect you, sooner or later people will start taking things into their own hands. As long as nothing is done about the issue - violence WILL escalate.

[ErikaKane88]

12:01 AM on 05/10/2012

This is such a sad situation all around. Of course it wasn't the best idea to retaliate against the bullies in that manner, but he probably saw it as his only choice. If the Indianapolis Star is correct in reporting that the school dismissed his mother's complaints and blamed the victim (Young) for being "openly gay" then I think there is enough evidence for the ACLU to bring a case against the school. Davis v. Monroe states that school officials must have knowledge of the behavior and exhibit deliberate indifference toward the victim in order to be held liable for damages for failing to comply with Title IX. Blaming someone for being openly gay sounds like "deliberate indifference" to me.

[rickjam2010]

11:35 PM on 05/09/2012

Stun Gun Fired at ARSENAL High School?

You can't make this stuff up.

[jamirflyd]

12:11 PM on 05/09/2012

Poor guy. No one should be bullied for their SO. People are born they way they are and "beating the gay out of them" is not a good defense for bullying. He really should get a lwayer and sue the school system.

[Jason N]

04:17 PM on 05/08/2012

The school really expelled him. What a freaking joke.

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/08/11600211-bullied-gay-student-who-fired-stun-gun-is-expelled?lite

[Jason N]

11:10 AM on 05/10/2012

The school did NOTHING to protect the child, despite numerous times being told he was being assaulted. He stood up for himself and now he's expelled for it, while the kids who were beating him almost daily don't even get detention. Do you NOT see the problem with this?!?! Who's the joke here again?!?! LOL!!

[dance2k01]

03:47 PM on 05/31/2012

they need to expell all the teachers and name all that was envoled

[murphus1]

03:26 PM on 05/08/2012

Get a lawyer kid....maybe even ACLU, and SUE THE SCHOOL. Seems that's the only way these schools will protect kids.

[lkmystique]

12:53 PM on 05/08/2012

I do not agree with the gay lifestyle, however, NO ONE deserves to be bullied and feel threatened. The way I understand it they went to the school several times about this boy being bullied and so far there has been no punishment doled out to the bulliers. It's sad when a student feels like he has to bring any kind of weapon to school to protect himself against bullies.

[murphus1]

03:30 PM on 05/08/2012

When you say "I do not agree with the gay lifestyle", aren't you really saying you don't agree with GAY SEX?

Why should you care who another person "loves"?

[Dontstartnonewantbenone]

06:18 PM on 05/09/2012

She should have went to the bullies home and got with the parents public schools or to teach our kids not to raise them, then the police would have gotten involved.