Pellet gun in East Ramapo school leads to 4 suspensions

• Four Pomona Middle School students suspended after pellet gun brought to school
• Students may have threatened peers about using the gun%3B they could face further penalties%2C district says
• No one was hurt during the incident Friday

POMONA – Four Pomona Middle School students have been suspended for a week after East Ramapo school officials discovered one of them took a pellet gun to school Friday and it changed hands between students throughout the day.

Police and school officials are looking into the possibility that the students also made threatening phone calls to classmates about using the pistol, which looks like a real gun.

East Ramapo received no reports from students or staff about the weapon in the school Friday, said Arthur Fisher, assistant superintendent for personnel and secondary education.

But a student told a parent about it on Saturday, unaware that it was not real. The mother called Principal Christine Alfonso, who contacted police.

Officers searched the home of the student suspected to be in possession of the gun but found nothing. Police notified the district that it was not a real gun on Sunday; they made no arrests.

On Monday, the district identified the owner of the pellet gun, which was turned over to administrators, Fisher said.

"We take this very seriously," he said. "The message is very clear — this is totally unacceptable."

He said four students were suspended for five days and a superintendent's hearing is recommended. That could result in further disciplinary action based on the outcome of the investigation into the alleged phone threats.

Pomona Middle School has 658 students in grades seven and eight.

Cassandra Edwards, an outspoken public school advocate and parent of an eighth-grader, said her son was one of the suspended students and one of roughly 10 involved in the dispute in which the pellet gun played a role.

Her son was suspended for talking back to the principal, Edwards said. He did not handle the gun but he saw it being passed around and was threatened by another student, she said.

"My big issue is (the violence is) not going to go away," she said Tuesday. "We need to have parents come together and have a discussion to make sure all of our kids are safe. These are all adolescents, children of color. With all that's going on in our country with guns, we need to address this immediately."

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