Hollister
– Last week’s events at Sunnyslope Elementary School have
highlighted the importance of safe campuses for local parents and
educators, who are urging families to talk to their children about
the dangers posed by toy firearms.
Hollister – Last week’s events at Sunnyslope Elementary School have highlighted the importance of safe campuses for local parents and educators, who are urging families to talk to their children about the dangers posed by toy firearms.
“I don’t understand why anyone would bring even a toy firearm onto a campus in light of recent events,” San Benito County Sheriff’s Deputy Rich Brown said. Brown is the school resource officer for San Benito High School.
Two male students, ages 8 and 10, brought and fired a toy airsoft gun on the Sunnyslope campus Thursday. Nobody was injured – in fact Principal Melinda Scott said students didn’t think the incident was a “big deal” because they knew it was a toy – but nevertheless the event caused a stir in the wake of three school shootings elsewhere in the nation and was reported on a regional television news channel.
Both boys were recommended for expulsion.
The incident prompted Hollister School District Superintendent Ron Crates, Police Chief Jeff Miller and San Benito County Sheriff Curtis Hill to issue a warning to district families about the very real trouble toy guns can cause. Though airsoft guns like the one fired at Sunnyslope have orange tips designed to distinguish them from their deadlier counterparts, children sometimes paint the tips black or remove them altogether to give their guns a more “real” look.
When this happens, warns the letter, even police officers may be unable to determine if a child is holding a genuine or toy gun, especially if the child is at a distance. Moreover, the students could injure themselves or their classmates, depending on what the gun is designed to fire.
“I’m glad that the district took this opportunity to reiterate to families what is and is not acceptable at school,” HSD Board President Eugenia Sanchez said. “It’s a good time for us to look at what happened and see what we can do to communicate better with families.”
According to state Education Code and HSD policy, students are given expulsion hearings should they bring imitation guns to school, and arrested if they are brandished. Brown said the same policy applies at SBHS.
“If you bring one of those on campus, that’s it, you’re automatically gone,” he said.
Brown could not recall imitation firearms ever being a problem at SBHS.
“Occasionally there have been these issues (with weapons like knives), but as far as simulated firearms go, no,” he said.
Moreover, Brown said many local residents have taught their children gun safety, making San Benito County schools safer campuses overall.
“This is a small rural community, and a lot of the residents here are aware of how to use a gun and know the legitimate reasons for using one – which does not include bringing it to school,” he said. “A lot of kids know that you never point a gun at someone.”
HSD and SBHS parent Monica Rodriguez said that while she was not happy about the incident at Sunnyslope, she still felt local schools were relatively safe.
“Schools are as safe as everyone around you wants them to be; there’s not a whole lot you can do, but they’re as safe as they can be,” she said. “I think as long as we treat our kids with respect we can avoid a lot of these problems.”
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected].
