Watch CBS News

Md. Boy Suspended For Turning Pastry Into Weapon

BROOKLYN PARK, Md. (WJZ) -- Another Maryland child has been suspended from school for what some say was a simple childhood act. But school officials say the 7-year-old was threatening violence with a breakfast pastry. Now the boy's family is outraged.

Kai Jackson has both sides of the controversy.

It's being called the "Pop-Tart pistol," but the Anne Arundel County school system isn't laughing.

Joshua Welch had a rough morning last week at Park Elementary in Brooklyn Park.

"And I showed him what the pastry looked like. It was blue and it was a rectangle and it was a cherry one," Joshua Welch said.

The second-grader found himself in trouble after eating a Pop-Tart on Friday during snack time. Joshua says his teacher looked at it and accused him of shaping the pastry into a gun and sent him to the principal's office. He was later suspended.

"Yeah, when I started--when I was done, it turned out to be a gun, yeah," he said.

Joshua's father was outraged that his child was suspended.

"When you compare the caliber of the `offense' to the caliber of the punishment, they don't match up," said BJ Welch, Joshua's father.

The Anne Arundel County school system sent a letter home to parents saying that a student used food to make inappropriate gestures in class and that school policy to deal with the issue was followed.

This case is one in a number that have happened recently in Maryland.

"He's a child and every child does things like that. He should have been shown correctly before he got thrown out of school or whatever happened to him," said Jeanne Myers.

Park Elementary notified parents that the school counselor is available to any students who need to talk.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.