A 5-year-old girl from Pennsylvania has been suspended after telling a friend she was going to shoot her with a pink toy gun that spits out bubbles, the Associated Press reports.
The kindergartener was waiting for the bus at the time, and did not have the fake gun with her.
PennLive.com has all the unbelievable details:
Elementary school officials learned of the conversation and questioned the girls the next day, Fickler said. He said the girl did not have a parent present during the 30 minutes of questioning.
The result, he said, was that the student was labeled a “terrorist threat” and suspended for 10 days, Ficker said. The school also required her to be evaluated by a psychologist, [attorney Robin Ficker] said.
“This little girl is the least terroristic person in Pennsylvania,” he said. [Emphasis added]
The family’s attorney helped reduce the punishment from ten days to two, but the school is keeping the incident on the girl’s record. It has apparently been modified, however, to say she intended to harm another student.
Ficker told The Daily Item that school employees have become “hysterical” since the tragedy at Sandy Hook, and while we need to address genuine issues, there’s certainly a line to be drawn.
“You can’t make light of what happened to this girl either,” Ficker argued. “The incident goes on her permanent school record. She has been branded a troubled person. But she was suspended for her words. She had no gun. She had a bubble-making machine.”
The girl’s mother added: “All I know is what my daughter has told me and she said she was told she could go to jail, which is a very traumatic thing for a 5-year-old to live with.”
School officials said on Friday they weren’t at liberty to discuss disciplinary actions.
But one clever ebay user utilized the story in attempting to sell his son’s bubble gun, which he warned “may lead to the suspension of your kindergarten aged child.”
The question and answer section reads:
Q: Does the winning bidder have to submit to a background check? Does this item come with the standard 10 oz bottle of bubble ammo or am i limited to the New York 7oz bottles?
A: No background check required. This item will include 5 fluid oz of “bubble ammo” to pass any New York State regulations/laws.
WNEP-16 has more:
(H/T: WeaselZippers)
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Related:
- ‘It’s Ridiculous’: Three 6-Year-Olds Suspended for Making ‘Gun’ Signs With Hands During Recess
- School Allegedly Asks Deaf Preschooler to Change His Name Because Sign Language Version Resembles ‘Weapons’
- ‘I Beg You to Try Very Hard to Make Guns Not Allowed’: White House Releases Letters From Children on Guns






















































































































Comments (204)
oktomcat
Jun. 6, 2013 at 5:35amSchool employees have become hysterical and probably need to see a psychologist. In fact, maybe every school in America needs to have there school employees evaluated. Having such a phobia can’t be healthy.
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jobalia
Mar. 13, 2013 at 11:04amAnd since this 5 year old girl was labelled a “terrorist threat” she can be killed by a drone strike.
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dadof2x2
Jan. 23, 2013 at 9:42amThis girl was a labeled a threat? This is why I don’t agree with people on the no fly list, being denied their second amendment rights. Look how little it takes to be labeled as a terrorist threat.
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leary1
Jan. 22, 2013 at 2:10pmThe libs. have learned a new phrase…TERRORIST THREAT, now they will use this term until they find another good one, like they used NEVER WANT TO WASTE A GOOD CRISIS. This little girl is also a threat to tsa, even without the bubbles !
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Scruff
Jan. 21, 2013 at 5:21pmTime to homeschool. . .
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Kneale
Jan. 21, 2013 at 4:52pmAnd we want to arm teachers! It’s crazy.
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P4cooler
Jan. 21, 2013 at 3:40pmThe reason for this insanity is that the administrators in the public schools are morons. They are totally lacking in common sense and good judgment. In other words, they are idiots. They lack the capacity to evaluate a situation for what it is, and instead fall back on blanket policies so that they don’t have to think or make a decision. School administrators who rely on zero tolerance policies are LAZY and COWARDLY. They shouldn’t be in a position to make decisions about our children. These so-called “administrators” should really be working on an assembly line making widgets instead of working with young children. But that might even be too great a challenge for their meager mental capacities. With any luck, they might .. .. . and I emphasize the word might . . . be able to get a job at Taco Bell or Burger King.
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Bob Mariner
Jan. 21, 2013 at 2:44pmI don’t know who removed my posting but I will try once more. In Ohio a 5 year old is not mentally culpable to be charged with a crime. Has anyone checked Pennsylvania law?
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Bob Mariner
Jan. 21, 2013 at 2:23pmI don’t know about Pennsylvania but in Ohio a 5 year old is not mentally capable of committing a crime. Has anybody checked Pennsylvania law?
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Ghandi was a Republican
Jan. 21, 2013 at 12:55pmWOW– And the libs won’t even label ACTUAL terrorists a ‘terrorist threat’ Now there is a headline.
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TRILO
Jan. 21, 2013 at 10:20amCommon sense has long been dead. A permanent record of violence against a 5 year old for a bubble gun. Kids getting suspended for shooting finger guns on the playground. What next … Felony charges for drawing a picture of a gun.
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txswalker
Jan. 21, 2013 at 9:57amMy boy was given detention last year (he was 9) because he took a big bite of his sandwhich at lunch then noticed it was shaped like a gun and began pretending to shoot peanut butter and jelly at everyone. I told the vice principle she was retarded and we were asked to leave….
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cdb
Jan. 21, 2013 at 9:19amThis is exactly the kind of crap that has the young people in this country going around shooting each other. A lack of common sense. The removal of all discipline. The removal of all responsibility. And like in this case, the removal of all common sense and logic. Knee jerk reactions to simple things. Stupidity running amuck.
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archer52
Jan. 21, 2013 at 8:51amGovernment says you can’t own a gun if you have a history of mental illness. Government says a five year old is a “terrorist threat” and needs forced counseling- which is a definition of mental illness.
Twenty years from now she goes to buy a gun and is denied. Because government says….
This is why you can’t be sucked into the mental health background check bull..
Just saying..
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lgccac
Jan. 21, 2013 at 7:38amWe all know how stupid Democrats can be. But come on.
Democrats govern by emotion, not common sense.
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TeslanEdison
Jan. 21, 2013 at 1:17amYeah, they should still sue the school for mental abuse, calling a child a terrorist and interrogating her for 30 min’s is a form torture. The school admin should have a mark on their criminal record for torturing small children with psychological abuse. The child should declare PTSD as she was having fun with a bubble blower, or more over declare that president Obama had traumatized her with his repeated messages about children being murdered and she only wanted to protect herself.
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RSHLUVER
Jan. 21, 2013 at 12:31amHome School!!!
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