A 13-year-old Brookfield youth who allegedly shot three fellow students with a BB gun at George Washington Middle School, 8101 Ogden Ave., Lyons, was expelled from Lyons-Brookfield School District for two years by members of the Board of Education at a disciplinary hearing Dec. 13.
Meanwhile, a 13-year-old Lyons boy accused of hiding the BB gun after the shootings was placed in the district’s 9-week alternative school.
District 103 serves five communities, including Lyons, Stickney, Forest View, McCook and the southeast quadrant of Brookfield.
While the school board doesn’t need to make disciplinary rulings public, it did so, according to Superintendent Raymond Lauk, “in part to make a statement. If you bring a gun, you’re out for two years.”
The announcement of the penalties contradicted a letter sent to district parents shortly after the incident that stated the consequences of the shooting would not be revealed, citing a concern for student privacy.
According to Lauk, the expelled student will not be able to gain admission at another public school, since districts have to provide a certificate of good standing when a student leaves a district.
The boy will either have to be enrolled in a private school or receive home schooling to stay on track.
School board President Joanne Schaeffer said the district would remain vigilant about safety, but doubted that the district would implement stricter measures to ensure weapons aren’t brought into school.
“We have staff on watch all the time,” Schaeffer said. “I don’t know what else we can do, short of searching everyone who walks through the door.”
According to Lyons police, who responded to the scene, the Brookfield boy, who was charged with aggravated battery, aggravated assault and reckless conduct, shot two girls and one boy with a pistol-type weapon. None of the children was seriously injured.
Lauk confirmed that the gun also discharged in the office of Principal Robert Hildreth, while Hildreth was attempting to disengage the gun. He also said it discharged again at the Lyons police station.
“The gun was broken,” Lauk said. “It malfunctioned; it accidentally went off.”
