Student Suspended For Bringing BB Gun

INDIANOLA, Okla. (AP) -- A student has been suspended from middle school for the rest of the year for bringing a BB gun to school, district officials said.<br/><br/>Superintendent Jeff Maddox said the

Wednesday, April 25th 2007, 2:36 pm

By: News On 6

INDIANOLA, Okla. (AP) -- A student has been suspended from middle school for the rest of the year for bringing a BB gun to school, district officials said.

Superintendent Jeff Maddox said the weapon was discovered Monday. He did not say how it was found or why the student had it.

"We want to complete an investigation before we do anything else," Maddox said.

Undersheriff Richard Sexton said he was not notified, and there is no record of a call from the school to the sheriff's department.

"If the school would have contacted us, that would have been something that we would have investigated," Sexton said.

Maddox said law enforcement was not called because the student did not have what he considers a firearm.

"If it was a real firearm, it would have been more severe," Maddox said. "If we had any kind of firearm, we would be dealing with police. We found out quickly, and we addressed it."

The state Department of Education requires schools to report incidents like this within 14 days.

A BB gun is considered a firearm, like a pistol or shotgun, according to incident report guidelines listed on the department's Web site.

Under Indianola district policy, a student who brings a weapon to school can be suspended for up to a year.