7-year-old faces expulsion after bringing toy guns to school

PORTSMOUTH, Va. - (AP) -- A 7-year-old Portsmouth student is facing expulsion after bringing toy guns to school.

Media outlets report the second-grader was suspended for 10 days in May after he was caught with a water gun and a Nerf gun in class at Douglass Park Elementary. Following his suspension, the school told the child's mother that he could be expelled.

Like most school systems, Portsmouth has zero tolerance for guns in schools, but the mother thinks this case is different because she says her son didn't understand what he was doing and why he couldn't bring his toy guns to school.

She believes administrators should decide punishment on a case-by-case situation and has hired an attorney to fight the possible expulsion.

The school board will take up the issue during a hearing Thursday.