Boys Expelled For Holding, Waving Toy Gun

Two Spokane Valley eighthgraders were expelled Tuesday after one brought a cap gun to school and the other waved the toy around.

One boy had the black and brown revolver-style cap gun in his backpack, said North Pines Junior High School principal Dave Bouge. The other waved it in the air near students loading onto buses.

“You could buy this at Pay Less (Drug Store) for $3,” Bouge said, holding up the toy gun. But waving it in the air near other students and teachers, he said, “sends a terrorizing image.”

The two boys were goofing around with friends in a construction site next to the school as other students were getting onto buses at the end of the day.

An adult aide saw the toy gun and notified school officials, who called the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department, Bouge said.

A deputy near the school approached the boys and took the toy gun away. The boys were turned over to the principal, said sheriff’s Lt. Dave Wiyrick. They were not arrested, but a police report was filed, he said.

School officials plan to press any charges recommended by the sheriff’s department, Bouge said.

“Our society has evolved to the point where it terrifies too quickly,” Bouge said. “For the respect the school must generate in the community, you have to take a hard stand.”

Several students questioned later by Bouge said they thought the gun was real, but they were not scared or shocked.

Central Valley School District rules are enforced by administrators off school grounds “if the actions of the student materially and substantially affect the educational process.”

The two boys were shocked and upset when they learned they would be expelled, Bouge said. They pleaded with him to let them stay in school.

But Bouge felt he had no choice because “300 students were out there getting on buses. I’ve got a lot of good kids here, and they don’t deserve to be treated like that.”