PALMER, Mass. (CNN) — A plastic LEGO-sized gun caused a disturbance on a Old Mill Pond Elementary School bus Friday morning.
Mieke Crane is the mother of the 6-year-old kindergarten student who brought the gun on the bus.
“I think they over-reacted totally. I totally do,” said Crane.
Another student on the bus saw the toy and yelled to the driver.
“She said he caused quite a disturbance on the bus and that the children were traumatized,” said Crane.
The school sent home a letter to parents of students who take the bus explaining what happened. It stressed no gun was on the bus and there was never any danger.
The letter also has photo of the toy showing it’s actual size, which is slightly larger than a quarter.
“I could see if it was you know, an air soft gun or some sort of pistol or live bullets or something. This is just a toy,” said Crane.
She is upset with how her son is being disciplined. She says he had to write an apology letter to the driver, has detention on Tuesday and could be temporarily suspended from the bus.
The other student, who yelled about seeing the gun, also had to apologize.
Crane and that student’s mother, who did not go on camera, think this is sending the wrong message. The two agree speaking up is what the students are trained to do if they see something wrong like a gun.
Meantime, Crane says her son knows guns are bad and that they shouldn’t be in school.
“At 6-years-old, I don’t really think he understood the zero tolerance policy and related it to this as the same,” said Crane.
We reached out to the Superintendent and Principal’s office by phone and email, but have not received a comment.