9-Year-Old Brings BB Guns to Manalapan Elementary School

Manalapan, NJ - We reported this earlier, but here’s more on the incident:

A 9-year-old boy brought two Airsoft BB guns to Wemrock Brook elementary school on Friday, Dec. 11, according to township police.

The boy brought the BB guns on the bus with him that morning and then into the classroom with him, said police. Within ten minutes of the student arriving at school, teachers and security personnel noticed the guns, said Manalapan Schools Superintendent John Marciante, and they called police, who responded at 9:22 a.m. that day.

“At no point was there any danger to any person at any time,” said Marciante in a letter sent to parents after Manalapan Patch first reported the incident in the township police blotter. In the letter, Marciante also apologized to parents for not informing them about the incident earlier.

“It is not now, nor will it ever be the intention of the school to hide information,” the superintendent wrote. “Had there been any level of concern, we would have contacted you immediately.”

Parents of students who saw the toy guns were contacted Friday, Marciante said.

Police do not think the boy brought the guns by accident.

“There was no indication this was a mistake by the student,” said Deputy Chief Michael Fountain of the Manalapan police, who said no reason was given for why the child brought the toy guns.

The student and the guns were removed from the school Friday morning. Disciplinary action was taken, said Marciante, but he did not elaborate, saying it was confidential.

Airsoft guns, which are very popular, cannot cause fatal injuries, but they can cause quite serious eye injuries.

Wemrock Brook serves grades 1 through 5.