School authorities respond to armed 7 year-old…

[Jackpine Radical]

We are going seriously nuts, people. Here is further proof.

http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/boy_7_suspended_for_chewing_pastry_into_shape_of_gun_pointing_it_and_saying/?utm_source=maestro&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly_email

I especially like the part where the school is offering counseling to any kids who suffered trauma due to the incident.

In the latest example of a zero-tolerance policy concerning weapons brought to school that some see as having been taken to an extreme, a 7-year-old boy was suspended for two days over a breakfast pastry.

The unidentified student at Park Elementary School in Baltimore, Md., is the son of William “B.J.” Welch, who explained that his son nibbled the pastry into a gun-like shape, then said "bang,bang," reports the Washington Post. It is disputed whether the child pointed the pastry at the ceiling or another student.

“In my eyes, it’s irrelevant; I don’t care who he pointed it at,” said Welch. “It was harmless. It was a danish.”

The father said he is concerned about references to guns now included in his son's school records.

School officials in Anne Arundel County declined to comment, citing confidentiality laws. However, a letter to parents from an assistant principal said a student had “used food to make inappropriate gestures that disrupted the class” and offered counseling to any student who might need it.

[Squinch]

1. This story originated with a Fox station, and then bounced around the batshit crazy conservative

media like Glen Beck and the blaze. Personally, I'm going to need another primary source besides Fox to believe it ever happened. (PS. This abajournal source is largely just a reprinting of the original from FOX. As are all the other sources I found on the net.)

[Jackpine Radical]

2. Interesting.

The only place I saw it was the one I linked to. Had no idea of the Fox connection.

[pintobean]

3. How about The Washington Post?

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-03-04/local/37423071_1_toy-gun-pastry-welch

That story links to the letter that was sent home. It's a PDF on the school's website.

[nessa]

5. CNN, The Baltimore Sun, WPTV, The Capital Gazzette, NBC

I would think the school would deny it publicly if it wasn't true.

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-03-04/news/bs-md-ar-park-pastry-gun-20130304_1_pastry-welch-gun

http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/national/josh-welch-pop-tart-gun-park-elementary-school-student-suspended-over-breakfast-pastrys-shape

http://www.capitalgazette.com/news/arundel_digest/park-elementary-student-suspended-over-pastry-gun-incident/article_99b185ec-b6c1-5dbb-8eac-2f2a9457940f.html

http://startingpoint.blogs.cnn.com/2013/03/04/seven-year-old-suspended-from-school-for-alleged-pastry-gun-dad-says-offense-and-punishment-dont-add-up/?iref=allsearch

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/51048570/ns/local_news-baltimore_md/t/md-boy-suspended-making-gun-shaped-pastry/#.UTtJmFebaJ0

[newfie11]

4. All children must comply. No playing

No using imagination. Just sit and be a zombie. The " state" will approve.

[Squinch]

6. OK. As I said in my post, I would need to see other primary sources from Fox to believe it happened

Folks have found other primary sources, and I believe something happened. What that something is, I'm not so sure.

Read that story. The school says they can't comment due to confidentiality. The dad is the only reporter. His kid was suspended for being disruptive. Might there be behind this just be a very bratty kid acting up in ways we haven't been told, and a dad reporting that it was all about guns?

The ridiculousness of this story, and its popularity with the wingnuts assures me of one thing: it is, at its base, inaccurate.

[pintobean]

7. Believe what you want

I doubt that all those news organizations would run the story without multiple sources.

Plus, there's this from the letter that the school sent home:

During breakfast this morning, one of our students used food to make inappropriate gestures that disrupted the class. While no physical threats were made and no one was harmed, the student had to be removed from the classroom