A student at Island Park High School in Florida was suspended after the principal and other staff members saw him imitating a gun with his hands and pretending to shoot in a classroom.
This happened Friday.
"You shouldn't be doing something like that at all," former Island Park High School student Devan Hinton said.
"It's just not something to be taken lightly," Sam Sherman, who lives in Fort Myers, told Scripps station WFTX in Fort Myers, Florida.
The principal called the Lee County Sheriff's Office to file an incident report after he saw the student "imitating a rifle with his hands and pointing it to the classroom."
Another staff member described the student making "a gesture with his arm simulating as if he was firing a weapon into the classroom."
A third staff member said the student "stood in the classroom doorway and made a machine gun style pose with his arms pretending to shoot at the classroom."
"That isn't OK. With everything going on, that's not something to joke about. That's lives in someone's hands," Hinton said.
The principal said he didn't think the student was serious but will not tolerate this behavior in school, so he suspended him.
It's an action Sherman said he agrees with for the safety of the students.
"It's better to be preventative than wait and let it go on, and God forbid something else occur," he said.
The principal of Island Park High School, Arthur Nauss, sent WFTX this statement:
"I took the disciplinary action of sending the student home after I observed him pointing his finger at another student imitating that he was shooting a gun. The student pointing the finger and the student he was pointing at know each one another and were laughing at one another. There was no threat being issued but I believe it necessary to make it clear to the student, and all our students, that this is unacceptable behavior considering the recent events here in Florida. I called the student’s mother to inform her of what had occurred and let her know I would be working with the student in the future to ensure this behavior does not reoccur.
When the student returns to school he will be informed that any future actions such as this one will result in a suspension or expulsion from school. I will also let him know that actions like this in the future will be reported to the appropriate authorities."
