An 11-year-old boy has been expelled from school after he disarmed a classmate carrying a gun and dismantled the weapon, an action his mother insists should be recognized as courageous rather than criminal.
The incident occurred in May at Dwight Rich School in Lansing, where the seventh grader reportedly spotted another student with a firearm. Using hunting skills, he managed to take the weapon, separate its parts, and dump the bullets before an adult intervened.
Police later confirmed a disassembled, unloaded firearm was recovered on campus and that a 12-year-old student was arrested. His name has not been released.
Despite preventing what could have been a tragedy, the boy was expelled under Michigan’s strict zero-tolerance law on weapons in schools.
“He’s 11 years old. Seventh grade. Never been in trouble before,” his mother, Savitra McClurkin, told NBC affiliate WILX. “It’s devastating because he’s a bright kid and all he wants to do is be a kid.”
McClurkin admitted her son did not immediately notify teachers or administrators because he feared implicating himself or getting the classmate in trouble. Still, she argues he acted instinctively to protect others.
A GoFundMe campaign launched by family friends describes him as a child whose “first instinct was not to run away, it was to protect his classmates.” The page laments that “instead of being recognized as a hero, [he] is now being treated like a criminal.”
The expulsion has left McClurkin homeschooling her son, with online schools reportedly declining to admit him due to the district’s decision. She says the move has put financial and emotional strain on the family.
“They are setting my child up for failure,” McClurkin said at a recent Lansing School Board meeting. “They’re setting him up to being a statistic, and I’ve been doing everything in my will and my power to keep him from that.”
In a statement, the Lansing School District defended its decision, saying it had a “legal and moral responsibility” to ensure safety.
“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,” administrators said. They added that “statements and video evidence” informed the ruling and stressed that expulsion is never taken lightly.
For now, the boy remains enrolled in a non-accredited online program as his family continues to appeal for reinstatement.
