A mother was stunned to find out that her four-year-old boy was suspended from preschool for seven days because he sneaked an empty shell casing into the classroom to show his friends.

On Tuesday, Kristy Jackson went to A Place to Grow in Troy, Illinois to pick up her son but was instead greeted by a teacher who informed her that Hunter brought a “shotgun bullet” to school. Jackson was horrified at the thought but was instead handed a small, spent shell casing and knew exactly what Hunter had done. But this innocent mistake didn’t deter the school from handing down a severe punishment.

Frustrated by the lack of reasoning skills exhibited by school officials, Mrs. Jackson took to Facebook to defuse the hysteria:

I never thought this could happen to us. You see stuff on the news like this, but....

Today, I picked up my happy little 4 yr old from preschool, at A Place to Grow, in Troy. My arrival was met with a stone faced teacher, who told me that Hunter brought a "shotgun bullet" to school.  I was horrified. My kid? Who just spent the weekend learning gun safety?

Well....when I was escorted to the office for a sit down. I was handed a tiny .22 empty brass casing. Not a "shotgun bullet". He found it on the ground, expelled from a 22 Rifle over the weekend, while Hunter was target practicing with his Police Officer Grandpa. He was so excited, and snuck it to school to show his friends. We had no idea about it. 

I was handed a piece of paper. No words, just eyebrows raised in disgust at my son, explaining that his behavior warranted a 7 school day suspension. Which I still was expected to pay tuition for, of course. And a threat that if his enthusiasm for guns continued, he'd be permanently expelled.

A local news report stated that Hunter has received numerous warnings at school about using everyday objects as pretend guns while at the preschool because that violates policy. The school felt this was the final straw and decided it was time to call the Department of Children and Family Services on Jackson and her husband.

A Place to Grow’s president, Sarah Jarman, also felt it necessary to send out a letter to the other parents to inform them that being a typical boy has no place in this school: “As a provider of early childhood education, we are charged with introducing a curriculum that is appropriate for every child in a classroom. The introduction of firearms safety into the classroom is not included in our curriculum. We view and understand that it is a very personal decision that each parent has the right to make.”

But the Jacksons didn’t know their son had brought it to school and wouldn’t have allowed it if they did. Her Facebook post continued:

See, here's the thing. This was a teaching moment. He never hurt anyone, or threatened anyone. This could literally happen to ANY CHILD who happened to find one on the ground and thought it was cool. He does not have access to ANY weapon in our home. This could have been handled by explaining appropriate behavior at school. 

He's 4. This doesn't hurt him, or teach him, or help him. Just his parents, who do not condone bringing these kinds of things to school. Ever. Had we known, we of course would have stopped it. But every time he or another child mentions a gun (like every boy I grew up with did) they punish him.

H/T Daily Wire