'Toy' gun lands student in hot water

A middle school student was charged with menacing Friday morning after allegedly bringing what police say was a "air soft" pellet gun to school and sticking it into the back of another student, according to a report from the Lawrenceburg Police Department.

The 13-year-old student's name was not released.

Air soft guns, also referred to as "soft air" guns, are spring, electric or gas-powered guns that fire small, spherical plastic pellets ranging from 6 mm to 8 mm, according to information obtained from Wikipedia.com.

Middle school principal Steve Karsner called the gun a "toy," and insisted that no students were ever in danger.

"It's a plastic, spring-loaded toy gun ... with a big orange tip on the end," he said Friday afternoon. "It doesn't even hardly fire. I have shot it myself, and the BB didn't even go 8 feet.

"I don't feel that, at any time, the safety of any of our students was compromised."

Karsner confirmed the boy charge did stick it in the back of another student.

"The kid was messing around," he said.

Karsner declined to say how the student was disciplined in the school.

"We knew the toy gun was here, we found and dealt with the student. I've spoken with the superintendent and have taken appropriate discipline."

Although he reiterated that the pistol-styled gun the student brought to school is a toy, Karsner said students are warned that bringing weapons, drugs or alcohol to school is forbidden.

"We call it zero tolerance," he said. "All the students know we have zero tolerance."

The school's resource officer, Officer Phillip Warner of the Lawrenceburg Police Department, charged the student.