Teen Suspended for Pretending to Shoot Fellow Students...With His Hands

"...pretending to shoot at students and saying what his 'kill count' was."

In the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, gun sensitivity has reached a fever pitch. The latest observable example comes from Marysville, Washington, where a 14-year-old Marysville Middle School student has been suspended for pretending to shoot at students with his hand.

Hunter Lance is accused of walking through the hallways at the school and using his hands as mock guns, pretending to fire at students. The penalty for this alleged action? He has been suspended for the remainder of the school year, KOMO-TV reports.

The mock firing incident apparently took place on May 31, but it is just now making headlines. While the district has been relatively tight-lipped about the incident, assistant superintendent Gail Miller did say that Hunter has a history of issues at the school and that he was observed misbehaving.

"The one student was walking down the hall pretending to shoot at students and saying what his 'kill count' was," she explained. "This is definitely inappropriate behavior and it frightened some children."

The student's mother, Rondi Lance, isn't defending her child's actions, but she does believe that the nine-day suspension is excessive. She also told KOMO-TV that, to date, no one has taken the time to explain to the teenager why his actions were serious and warranted such a strong action on the part of the district.

"I am not questioning the suspension or the discipline actions. Definitely they should've done what they did, but I think it's really extreme," the mother explained. "Two weeks' (suspension). That's it. You don't get to clean out your locker, you don't get to finalize your grades. It's like, 'get your stuff, you're done for the year.'"

Rondi also claims that her son has learned a lesson, as he has been forced out of the classroom for the remainder of the year and may need to take summer school classes to make-up the time he's lost as a result of his actions.

What do you think about Hunter's faux shooting antics? Did he deserve to be suspended? Take the poll, below.

(H/T: KOMO-TV)

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