A Louisiana fourth grader was suspended after a teacher reported seeing a gun in his bedroom during a virtual learning class.
Ka Mauri Harrison, 9, was making up an exam he had missed the day before while out sick for his class with the Jefferson Parrish School District when one of his siblings came in the room and tripped over a BB gun. According to CNN, Ka Mauri then picked the gun up and placed it next to him in his chair.
Ka Mauri had muted himself on the computer, which is required when students are not speaking during class. However, when he noticed his teacher trying to get his attention, he was disconnected from the session abruptly due to internet issues.
According to school documents seen by CNN, the school then tried unsuccessfully to reach Ka Mauri’s parents, so they reached out to his emergency contact, which happened to be his grandfather, and let him know the boy had a gun during his virtual class.
The school recommended the boy be expelled, but during a hearing on September 22, Ka Mauri was determined to be in “possession of a starter gun, stun gun and/or facsimile” weapon during his virtual class and amended his punishment from expulsion to six days suspension.
Ka Mauri’s attorney, Chelsey Cusimano, told CNN that the school district “took an on-campus weapons policy and unilaterally determined that they were going to apply it to one of their students in a manner as if he was on campus and not consider any measures such as the privacy of his own home.”
On Friday, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry accused the school of overstepping its boundaries and announced his office is investigating the incident.
“For anyone to conclude that a student’s home is now school property because of connectivity through video conferencing is absurd… It is ludicrous for this All-American kid to be punished for taking responsible actions just as it is for his parents to be accused of neglect,” Landry said.
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