Current Events > a mother says her son was expelled for disarming a kid who had a gun

(+) Yeah! (+)

apparently, an 11 year-old found out their friend had a gun, so he disarmed him, dismantled the gun (who's he, The Boss?), and threw away the bullets.

he was then expelled when it was found out he handled the gun, which was unassembled and found on campus.

The mother of a Michigan elementary school student is speaking out after her son was expelled for taking a gun away from a classmate.

Lansing mom Savitra McClurkin told local outlet WILX in a Sept. 19 interview that her 11-year-old son was expelled from Dwight Rich School of the Arts back in May after his classmate brought a gun to campus.

According to McClurkin, her child is being punished for something she considers heroic, as he believed he was helping the other students around him.

"I'm frustrated. I'm at my wits' end. I don't know what to do," McClurkin told WILX.

Back in May, WLNS and the Lansing State Journal reported that a disassembled, unloaded weapon was found inside the school. Police later arrested a 12-year-old boy, whose name has not been made public.

McClurkin told WILX that her son allegedly spotted his classmate carrying the gun, and he used his hunting knowledge to disarm and disassemble the weapon before throwing away the bullets.

"He didn't want to implicate himself in it, nor did he want to tell on the person that actually brought the firearm," she told the outlet. "Because he knows firearms aren't supposed to be in school."

In a GoFundMe established to help pay for the preteen's homeschooling, a family friend wrote that the 11-year-old's first instinct was not "to run away it was to protect his classmates."

"On what could have been a tragic and devastating day ... [he] acted out of courage and compassion," the fundraiser message reads.

When school administrators eventually learned that the 11-year-old had handled the weapon, they expelled him for possessing a gun, removing him from school for one year, his mother said.

"Instead of being recognized as a hero, [he] is now being treated like a criminal," the GoFundMe post states of the child. "He has been expelled and barred from all school platforms, despite being an A/B student, a respectful young man, and an athlete who has been playing sports since he was 6 years old."

The frustrated mother added that she has been trying to get in contact with the Lansing School District to discuss the matter, and even made an appearance at a recent board meeting.

"He's 11 years old. Seventh grade. Never been in trouble before," McClurkin said at the meeting, addressing the school board.

In a statement provided to PEOPLE, Lansing School District Director of Public Safety Dale Person and Executive Director of School Culture Cordelia Black said the expulsion was not a decision administrators took "lightly."

"In May 2025, a serious incident involving a firearm occurred at Dwight Rich Middle School. After a thorough investigation, and in accordance with Michigan law regarding dangerous weapons on school property, the Lansing School District determined that expulsion was necessary," the statement said.

"Expulsion is never a decision the district takes lightly. It is always considered a last resort," the statement continued. "However, Michigan law provides very clear direction in cases involving dangerous weapons. The investigation which included statements and video evidence left no ambiguity and required this outcome."

"The Lansing School District has both a legal and moral responsibility to ensure the safety of all students and staff," the statement concluded. "While this decision is difficult, our priority remains creating and maintaining a secure environment where learning can take place without fear. Upholding these standards is essential to protecting our school community."

According to McClurkin, her son is now enrolled in a non-accredited online program to keep him on track until another decision can be made about his future at school.

"Online schools are honoring [the school district's] decision," she told WILX. "Nor did they provide us a different resource or a different avenue to go."

The GoFundMe page states that because of the "sudden expulsion, the preteen's mother has had to take on the enormous challenge of educating him at home. This has forced her to cut back on work, creating serious financial strain on their household."

"They are setting my child up for failure," McClurkin told WILX. "Theyre setting him up to being a statistic, and I've been doing everything in my will and my power to keep him from that."

"It's devastating because he's a bright kid and all he wants to do is be a kid," she added.

https://people.com/11-year-old-expelled-from-school-after-taking-gun-away-from-classmate-11814226

I'm curious how he found out how to disassemble a gun, but yeah that's dumb. The kid who actually had the gun in the first place should've been the one expelled.

This is stupid. Next time a kid might hear what happened in this case, and when they have a chance to disarm someone they will instead be frozen in indecision and maybe get shot or someone else will get shot

another article said this is how it happened:

McClurkin said the student pulled out the gun in a bathroom and "gave my son a firearm."

"Like here, take this, hold on to this," she said.

Sakir, who knows how to hunt and learned about gun safety from his godfather, knew the weapon was not allowed in school.

"Sakir's natural reaction was, there's no way I'm going to hold on to this gun all day," his mother said. "He proceeded to go to class ... and dismantled it in class. There was a teacher in class and everything. People were around and everything."

After taking the gun apart, McClurkin said her son "put it inside of a heater" in the classroom and threw the bullets in a garbage can.

"He didn't want it on his person, but he didn't want nobody to mess with it," she said about why her son dismantled the firearm.

When asked why he did not immediately tell an adult about the gun, McClurkin said it was because her son was scared and was never taught what to do in that situation.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/michigan-mom-says-11-year-old-son-expelled-disarming-classmate-dismant-rcna233152

an 11 year old isn't being taught how to dismantle a fucking gun

at most i could see him being shown how to teardown a rifle, but that's not going to apply to anything else not on a similar platform

no, i would be more concerned that my 11 year old knows how to dismantle a gun than him doing it in school and getting expelled for it

I do believe he needs some consequence for not involving an adult; but explusion is way, way, WAY too far. Put him in one or two detentions and leave it at that - while making it very, VERY clear that he is in trouble for failing to report it; and NOT for taking it away in the first place.

(Edited to change wording that could've been taken the wrong way.)

boxoto posted...

"He proceeded to go to class ... and dismantled it in class. There was a teacher in class and everything. People were around and everything."

So he didn't tell a teacher, but took it apart in class with one in the room?
Hard to tell if the parent is just making excuses or the school is. Smells fishy, though.

If the story is true, then the kid is more than likely a hero.

Zero tolerance rules are fucking dumb. The mom should go after the school in some capacity, not sure if she could sue over this, if not than throw the school under the bus by straight up arguing the school would have perfered the students be victims of gun violence ... as tasteless as that may be. At least one person absolutely needs to lose their fucking job.

boxoto posted...

Sakir's natural reaction was, there's no way I'm going to hold on to this gun all day," his mother said. "He proceeded to go to class ... and dismantled it in class. There was a teacher in class and everything. People were around and everything."

After taking the gun apart, McClurkin said her son "put it inside of a heater" in the classroom and threw the bullets in a garbage can.

That's bad. He took the gun out of the bathroom into a class full of kids and then tried to disassemble it himself?

What if it went off?

Like, I don't agree with expulsion (he's 11 for gosh sake) but this was not a good alternative that the kid took.

ChocoboMogALT posted...

So he didn't tell a teacher, but took it apart in class with one in the room?
Hard to tell if the parent is just making excuses or the school is. Smells fishy, though.

yea, that part stood out because if the teacher was there, an adult was made aware then?...

ConfusedTorchic posted...

an 11 year old isn't being taught how to dismantle a fucking gun

You'd be very surprised.

ConfusedTorchic posted...

no, i would be more concerned that my 11 year old knows how to dismantle a gun than him doing it in school and getting expelled for it

Considering how he learned it from his godfather and from hunting (as quoted by the mother), I'm pretty sure the parents knew he could do that.

boxoto posted...

yea, that part stood out because if the teacher was there, an adult was made aware then?...

I read it as him taking it apart discreetly in the classroom

ChocoboMogALT posted...

So he didn't tell a teacher, but took it apart in class with one in the room?

good question. now there's 2 sides to the story. unfortunately don't know what really happened.

on topic, expulsion was excessive.

My guess is ( if true) this kid disassembled a gun of a very important parent.

The city of Lansing would've burnt down by now if that was my kid.

emblem-man posted...

I read it as him taking it apart discreetly in the classroom

true, good point.

jefffan posted...

My guess is ( if true) this kid disassembled a gun of a very important parent.

The city of Lansing would've burnt down by now if that was my kid.

Not unheard of. Our two-tiered justice system starts the moment kids are born.

boxoto posted...

another article said this is how it happened:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/michigan-mom-says-11-year-old-son-expelled-disarming-classmate-dismant-rcna233152

So... This doesn't sound like he stopped a potential school shooting. It sounds more like another kid gave him the gun to hold onto until later. Like a mule.

The kid decided he didn't want to do that and ditched the gun after taking it apart. But not only did he not tell any adults about the gun, he also didn't want to tell them who he got it from. But it does say they later arrested a 12 year old, so they probably did figure out where it came from, just without this kid's help.

It sucks, but I could see that being justification for expelling him.

In a lot of these stories, you don't always know the full details. Schools are under very strict privacy laws when it comes to these sorts of things. At face value, it looks bad, but there could be tons of information that we're not aware of. Teachers and administrators often have to straight-up lie to people because there are certain things that, if disclosed, are grounds for a lawsuit.

For the record, I do agree that a kid who disassembled a classmate's gun should not be expelled, assuming that is all he did. But you don't know...

SSj4Wingzero posted...

In a lot of these stories, you don't always know the full details. Schools are under very strict privacy laws when it comes to these sorts of things. At face value, it looks bad, but there could be tons of information that we're not aware of. Teachers and administrators often have to straight-up lie to people because there are certain things that, if disclosed, are grounds for a lawsuit.

For the record, I do agree that a kid who disassembled a classmate's gun should not be expelled, assuming that is all he did. But you don't know...

There really should be a law that protects (in this case) the school if theyre correcting false claims made about them, or adding important context that another party is wilfully leaving out.

Story is fishy, should of investigated it more before expulsion was even put on the table.

If he disassembled the gun it was no longer available for a good guy to save the day.

In this country Im not surprised

BakonBitz posted...

I'm curious how he found out how to disassemble a gun

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/9/9a941324.jpg

boxoto posted...

yea, that part stood out because if the teacher was there, an adult was made aware then?...

Yeah, he's an 11 year old so he's not completely aware of what would be right, he both made the teacher aware & made sure the gun wasn't able to be used.
I'd imagine it could have been a worse situation if he went up to the teacher & showed them a fully intact gun, that could cause panic.

Trumble posted...

There really should be a law that protects (in this case) the school if theyre correcting false claims made about them, or adding important context that another party is wilfully leaving out.

But if correcting these false claims means divulging someone else's information that someone wishes to keep confidential, then the school has to maintain that person's trust.

It's a difficult thing. I'm not saying that all teachers and schools are perfect. What I *am* saying is that, when teachers and schools come across as insensitive or tone-deaf, it's often because they've consulted education attorneys about what they can or cannot divulge and are trying to maintain the confidentiality of a student's personal information. It's a fine line.

All that said though, this could be simply addressed by, you know, not allowing firearms to be so common in our society that kids can get a hold of them and bring them to school...

Kind of odd that he thought enough of the danger to dismantle the gun, but then didn't notify anyone.

SSj4Wingzero posted...

All that said though, this could be simply addressed by, you know, not allowing firearms to be so common in our society that kids can get a hold of them and bring them to school...

That would (likely) prevent this specific case. It wouldn't prevent the general issue of the question as to whether we're getting the whole story on any given matter that looks bad for the school.

so the kid was expelled for avoiding another potential school shooting? what sense does that make??