Boy Suspended from School for Playing with Fake Gun at Home

[Orion21]

This is pretty incredible, especially since it's in the USA and Virgina Beach, VA.

http://www.wavy.com/...ce-gone-too-far

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - Two seventh grade Virginia Beach students have learned their fates Tuesday morning after they were suspended for shooting airsoft gun.

During a hearing Tuesday morning, Aidan Clark and Khalid Caraballo were given long-term suspensions in a unanimous vote. The suspensions will last until June, but a hearing will be held in January to determine if they will be allowed back in school.

Their parents told WAVY News' Andy Fox their children were expelled, but when Fox looked at the official letter from the school, he found they were long-term suspensions and not expulsions. Their parents still feel as though they were expelled.

Letter from school officials

Clark was offered the option of attending an alternative school, but his father, Tim, told WAVY News' Andy Fox he will be homeschooled.

Caraballo will attend an alternative school.

Like thousands of others in Hampton Roads, Khalid Caraballo plays with airsoft guns. Caraballo and his friend Aidan were suspended because they shot two other friends who were with them while playing with the guns as they waited for the school bus.

The two seventh graders say they never went to the bus stop; they fired the airsoft guns while on Caraballo's private property.

Aidan’s father, Tim Clark, told WAVY.com what happened next lacks commons sense. The children were suspended for possession, handling and use of a firearm.

Khalid's mother, Solangel Caraballo, thinks it is ridiculous the Virginia Beach City Public School System suspended her 13-year-old son and Aidan because they were firing a spring-driven airsoft gun on the Caraballo's posted private property. "My son is my private property. He does not become the school's property until he goes to the bus stop, gets on the bus, and goes to school."

The bus stop in question is 70 yards from the Caraballo's front yard.

Solangel Caraballo was not at home when this incident occurred. She was taking her young son to a Head Start class. She left her 16-year -old daughter in charge.

Khalid and Aiden aren't only suspended, they were recommended to be expelled for a year for "possession, handling and use of a firearm."

This story that addresses Zero Tolerance extending to private property began on Sept. 9 with a 911 call from a concerned citizen.

Audio: Listen to the 911 call

A neighbor saw Khalid shooting the airsoft gun in his front yard. She told the dispatcher, "He is pointing the gun, and it looks like there's a target in a tree in his front yard".

WAVY.com located the 911 caller and spoke to her. She confirmed Khalid was taking target practice using a zombie hunter airsoft gun to kill the zombies. There was also a net behind the target to catch the plastic pellets.

The caller also knew the gun wasn't real and said so, "This is not a real one, but it makes people uncomfortable. I know that it makes me (uncomfortable), as a mom, to see a boy pointing a gun," she told the 911 dispatcher.

The airsoft guns are designed to be non-lethal. Plastic pellets are used, and not copper bb's.

Ironically, that 911 caller's son was playing with Khalid and Aidan in the Caraballo front yard on September 12. There were six children playing in an airsoft gun war. "We see the bus come. We put the gun down. We did not take the airsoft gun to the bus stop. We did not take the gun to school," Khalid explained.

Aidan admits shooting the caller's son in the arm, and Khalid admits shooting another friend in the back. "He knew we had the airsoft gun. He knew we were playing. He knew people were getting shot. We were shooting at the tree, but he still came and even after he was shot he still played," referring to the son of the 911 caller.

WAVY.com reached out to the principal of Larkspur Middle School, Matthew Delaney. In a letter obtained by WAVY.com he said his investigation found the "children were firing pellet guns at each other, and at people near the bus stop." The letter from Delaney says one child “was only 10 feet from the bus stop, and ran from the shots being fired, but was still hit."

Khalid insists all the shots fired were on his private property. The three children firing the guns were suspended. The three others who did not fire the guns were not suspended.

Khalid thinks it’s unfair. "Yes, it's unfair because we were in our yard. This had nothing to do with school. I didn't have anything at school at anytime."

The Virginia Beach City Code isn't clear, and goes back and forth. It reads no person "shall...discharge any firearm, spring-propelled rifle or pistol...within...150 yards of any building." Then it reads "no person shall use a pneumatic gun except at approved shooting ranges or within private property."

Solangel says, "That is exactly my point. It is private property."

However, the Code also requires shooting with "permission of the owner." In this case, the parent is the owner, and she did not give her son, Khalid, permission to fire the gun. He disobeyed her.

"How dare

he disobey me, but this is a home issue. It's not a school issue and it won't happen again. He will never do this again," Solangel says looking back at Khalid with a stern face.

Virginia Beach Police say they do not proactively seek out to enforce this code unless "the juveniles are not exercising reasonable care." Reasonable care is defined as "the gun is discharged in a manner so the projectile is contained on the property by a fence or backstop."

Police are not charging anyone in this case. They would not discuss the specifics because the people involved are juveniles.

Khalid said he will never do this again. "It's terrible. I won't get the chance to go to a good college. It's on your school record. The school said I had possession of a firearm. They aren't going to ask me any questions. They are going to think it was a real gun, and I was trying to hurt someone. They will say 'oh, we can't accept you.' "

The City codes referenced in this case are as follows:

City Code 38-3, primarily section (d) “ Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, it shall be unlawful for any person to discharge any firearm, spring-propelled rifle or pistol, from, on, across or within one hundred fifty (150) yards of any building, dwelling, street, sidewalk, alley, roadway or public land or public place within the city limits.”

And

Section (f) “No person shall use a pneumatic gun in the area of the city described in (a) above except (i) at approved shooting ranges or (ii) on or within private property with permission of the owner or legal possessor thereof when conducted with reasonable care to prevent a projectile from crossing the bounds of the property. For purposes of this subsection, "pneumatic gun" means any implement designed as a gun that will expel a BB or a pellet by action of pneumatic pressure, including but not limited to paintball guns. Further, for the purpose of this subsection "reasonable care" means that the pneumatic gun is discharged in a manner so the projectile is contained on the property by a backstop, earthen embankment or fence. The discharge of projectiles across or over the bounds of the property shall create the rebuttable presumption that the use of the pneumatic gun was not conducted with reasonable care and shall constitute a Class 3 misdemeanor. “

Virginia Beach Police Sergeant Adam Bernstein released the following statement with regards to this incident:

We understand that a number of juveniles possess air soft guns and have “airsoft gun” wars with each other, but as it relates to the city code referenced above, they are in violation of the code if the juveniles are not exercising “reasonable care”. Also keep in mind that this is not something that we proactively seek out to enforce. If we receive a complaint (such as in the case for which you are doing the story on), we will investigate the call for service and enforce it appropriately, i.e. warning or prosecution. We want to stress to the parents of the juveniles and the operators of these type of “pneumatic guns” that they need to be handled responsibly and with reasonable care to ensure that the projectile is properly contained.

[Sutton]

What ever happened to letting kids be kids.

I know where I am from its not considered a firearm unless the projectile does so man FT/sec.

Yet I grew up on a farm away from people , where we carried around all sorts of guns around. Yet we where also taught firearm safety .

[Orion21]

It's just incredible. The Principal did his own investigation of an "incident" where kids were playing on private property with totally legal and widely available TOY guns and determined they were guilty of "possession, handling and use of a firearm." I am too worked up to comment further because I fear my post will be deleted if I actually type what I am thinking about this Principal etc . . .

[khomeinist]

Hard to feel sympathetic for the poorly-supervised kids acting like jacktards in their FRONT yard.

[CaptainQuintero]

I can think of worse things going off in the World right now to get upset about

[Orion21]

[Smallclub]

I can think of worse things going off in the World right now to get upset about

Guess what, me too…

[rckymtn22]

Schools are getting too powerful and are infringing into areas that they have no right. I don't agree with guns/ air rifles but what kids do at home is at home, what kids do at school then the principle has the right to get involved.

[Ken Gargett]

Guess what, me too…

add me to that, though i do think a lot of teachers seem to think they are tin gods.

the point about them being "totally legal and widely available" is understood but you could argue a so are cars. doesn't mean that they can't be misused - making a general point, not specifically related to this instance.

[Wil]

I can think of worse things going off in the World right now to get upset about

Ain't that the truth.

[jrb5783]

I can think of worse things going off in the World right now to get upset about

X5

[PaulP]

The US is quickly becoming France.

[CaptainQuintero]

I used to play bits of airsoft a few years ago, usually themed weekend events eg a Vietnam weekend with BBQ and beers etc but there are plenty of horror stories within the hobby, armed response units, doors being kicked in at 3am etc because people did not follow common sense with the 'guns' and neighbours etc saw what they thought was malicious or dangerous activity going on.

I'm guessing there is a chunk of the story missing which went something like the kids were walking around with the guns in public and someone assumed they were real (they are 1:1 scale replicas) and called the cops; big hoohaw ensued. It sounds like a school bus or something was involved so maybe they were pointing them at the bus etc?

I know people have nearly been shot in many counties by police thinking people are running around with real guns, wouldn't be surprised if people have actually been shot in fact.

Anyway, most likely kids being dumb, could have ended very badly, luckily it didnt and the kids got a wrist slap instead and will have learnt their lesson.

Sensationalist journalism is probably more to blame than anyone else

[PaulP]

I can think of worse things going off in the World right now to get upset about

I suppose that can apply to any thread here.

[Smallclub]

The US is quickly becoming France.

Stupid quote of the day. This story could precisely never happen in France.

[El Presidente]

Live and let live!

A clip over the ear from the parents if the kids cross the line. It is not that hard!

if the parents are incapable then the local plod (copper) pays a visit, smashes the plastic gun and clips the parents over the ear.

No brainer

[srbbones]

You who say you can think of other things to get worked up about are a mystery to me

This is an insane overreach of authority

Just because something worse occurred someplace doesn't mean you can't address this

[LordAnubis]

Khalid sounds like a muslim name, i wonder if the neighbour is a white hilbilly woman afraid of the "terrorisers" living next door.

[El Presidente]

Khalid sounds like a muslim name, i wonder if the neighbour is a white hilbilly woman afraid of the "terrorisers" living next door.

Love you my Muslim mate

Not all muslims are terrorists.

Not all white women are hillbilly's

Not all media reports are believable.

Not all gun loving white folk are rednecks

To me the great shame of this generation (most of us) is the transferring/bypassing of experience to media. let us travel and experience first hand the great intricacies of life. It really opens ones eyes both domestically and internationally (good and bad).

Living life in "black and white" is something I gave up on many years ago. There is an immense pleasure to be obtained from the hues in-between.

[LordAnubis]

Ahahah, you are indeed correct prez!!! I like speculating between the lines of all media reports. Theres always omissions from the report about certain details, which tell a point of view, which is perfectly fine, but that style of reporting requires the other point of views to also be reported. I should call my parents and tell them my 2 day suspension from school was not all that bad after all.

[Smallclub]

To me the great shame of this generation (most of us) is the transferring/bypassing of experience to media.

Bingo. Add to this the total decline of journalism…

[Ken Gargett]

Live and let live!

A clip over the ear from the parents if the kids cross the line. It is not that hard!

if the parents are incapable then the local plod (copper) pays a visit, smashes the plastic gun and clips the parents over the ear.

No brainer

seriously? the parents belt the kids and we have another front page load of crap. the parents should be the ones dealt with.

[Ken Gargett]

I suppose that can apply to any thread here.

with the exception of the glories of bruce concerts and the inevitable, if slower than planned, return to superstardom of rg3 and the skins.

[srbbones]

I wonder if those who can't get interested in a story like this understand how many would not care if some wacky governmental body made it illegal to smoke a cigar in your own yard?

[Smallclub]

I wonder if those who can't get interested in a story like this understand how many would not care if some wacky governmental body made it illegal to smoke a cigar in your own yard?

What's the relation between a disturbed college principal and a gouvernment? And a cigar forum?