A 12-year-old student has been suspended from a Colorado school for inadvertently flashing a toy gun on-screen during an online class.
On Aug. 27, Isaiah Elliott was attending a virtual art class for his Colorado Springs grade school when he accidentally showed the fake gun to his class, Fox affiliate KDVR reports. Emblazoned with the words “Zombie Hunter,” the green-and-black toy weapon also has an orange tip, all of which differentiate itself from a real gun.
The teacher ended up calling the school’s principal, who suspended Elliott for five days. The principal also notified the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, without first going to Elliott’s parents. “If her main concern was his safety, a two-minute phone call to me or my husband could easily have alleviated this whole situation to where I told them it was fake,” Dani Elliott, Isaiah’s mom, told the outlet.
Deputies were dispatched to the home to confirm that the gun was a toy and to warn Elliott against showing it again during class. “I didn’t know what was going to happen. I didn’t know if they were going to bust down the door,” Elliott said. “My heart was beating super fast.”
Elliott said that he was trying to move the toy during class, and unintentionally showed it on-screen. “I didn’t mean to put it across the camera or anything,” he said. “I just wanted to move it across the couch.”
His father, Curtis Elliott, said that school officials have to understand that because teachers are interacting with students at their homes due to COVID-19, expectations need to be adjusted. “The virtual setting is not the same as the school setting,” he said. “He did not take the toy gun to school. He’s in the comfort of his own home. It’s a toy.”
Elliott’s father added that he’s fearful of his young Black son growing up in the U.S. during this time. “It was really frightening and upsetting for me as a parent, especially as the parent of an African American young man, especially given what’s going on in our country right now,” he told KDVR. “I literally was scared for his life.”
Elliott’s mother reiterated those fears: “This could potentially impact his future. … Look at everything that’s going on in the world today,” she told BuzzFeed News. “God forbid something happens to my son down the road, people could look at this and decide he doesn’t deserve justice. I know that sounds extreme. … It’s a very real reality for us.”
In a since-deleted statement posted to Facebook, school officials insisted that they handled the situation the best way possible.
“We never have or ever will condone any form of racism or discrimination. Safety will always be number one for our students and staff. We follow board policies and safety protocols consistently, whether we are in-person or distance learning,” the statement read in part. “We will continue to support all families in our school to make sure they feel safe, respected, and educated.”
Elliott’s parents told the outlets that they will find a new school for their son.
