Earlier this week Lisa Pfalzgraf, principal of Elmwood Place Elementary School in Cincinnati, Ohio called the police on a 10-year-old boy after he brought a BB gun to the school, WCPO TV reports.
Now the Associated Press reports the boy may have had his own safety in mind when he did it -- revealing the boy told authorities he brought the weapon to school to scare off bullies who teased him for being small and wearing ankle braces.
Despite his claims, the boy was charged with a delinquency count of inducing panic after one student told officials the boy said he'd shoot him if he told anyone about the gun.
CBS news blog Crimesider reports the unnamed boy remains in his mother's custody awaiting a hearing in Hamilton County Court. No date has currently been set.
While the St. Bernard-Elmwood Place School District said they intend to launch an investigation into allegations made about the other students, Emily McCarnan, a parent at the school, told WCPO she wishes the school had notified parents about the incident.
"It is nice to know what's going on," McCarnan told the station. "It is important to know especially if it is a gun. I don't care if it was a BB gun or if was one more lethal but it's nice to know."
The district superintendent told the station parents weren't notified because the incident occurred at the end of the school day.