The mother of a 6-year-old girl is looking for answers after the police were called over an incident involving her happened at her elementary school.
In November, Maggie Gaines' daughter Margot, who has Down Syndrome, became frustrated and pretended to shoot her teacher with a finger-gun hand gesture.
The Tredyffrin-Easttown School District where Margot attends school considers such actions as a threat and that their policy regarding those types of threats required the police to be contacted.
“My daughter got frustrated and pointed her finger at her teacher and said, ‘I shoot you,'” Maggie said. “At that point, they went to the principal’s office and it was quickly assessed that she didn’t even really know what she was saying.”
“They were asking her questions, and she was saying, ‘Oh, I shoot mommy,’ laughs, or, ‘I shoot my brother.’ The principal asked, ‘Did you mean to hurt your teacher?’ And she said no and it seemed like she didn’t even know what that meant,” Gaines said.
Gaines says the police were still contacted and that her daughter's name is now on a police report. She worries there are potential negative ramifications for her daughter in the future.
The Gaines family is appealing the school board to amend the policy. The police say they cannot comment on the matter.
Source: 3 CBS Philly
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