Parents Criticize School Administration After Second-Grader Was Seen With Gun Clip

A second grader was seen with a gun clip at school last Thursday that later caused parents lashing out at the school's administration on its way of handling the incident.

Gulfport School District officials are doing all it can to remove the rumors going around and the fear of the parents after a Bayou View Elementary School second-grader brought a BB gun to school, Sun Herald reported.

MC Price Barton, the school district's spokesperson praised the teachers who handled the situation according to the district's policy. However, the district's communication with the parents is something that they would like to work on. They were not able to handle some parents who got angry due to the district's lack of communication and information.

The incident happened when one of the students reported to a teacher that a fellow student had a gun clip in a pocket. The teacher took the clip and notified the school administrator. They also took the student's backpack where they found the BB gun, Barton said.

According to Barton, other students have not seen the gun as it was not displayed in a threatening manner. The teachers and administration made sure that other students did not see it. The student got suspended following the incident.

"My problem with the whole thing is that I wasn't told," said parent Kasey Gannon, according to WLOX-TV. "My eight-year-old had this happen around him, in his classroom and with his friends. I, as a parent, did not have an opportunity to speak with him or to teach him that this is not what we do, this is not okay and this is not how things are to be handled."

Bunny Isgett-Lynn, the student's grandmother said that it was alarming for her to have to learn about the situation from a social media or hear it from a child.

Dr. Mike Tatum, Gulfport Schools assistant superintendent said that "[they] will do a better job of communication" in the future.

Meanwhile, here's a video of the same incident that happened couple of years ago in Johnston Community School District