It was with horror when I received the news last Tuesday (12) of a gun being recovered close to the Clifton Hunter School in Frank Sound.

That it turned out to be a BB gun, known in my day as an air gun, has not softened my concern.

Disciplinary action has been administered by the school regarding the students involved and their parents contacted after the school’s internal investigation.

“The Ministry of Education and Department of Education Services treats the safety of students as a top priority,” officials said. “Through the Safer Schools initiative we have been working to build stronger partnerships with the police and other key stakeholders to ensure that schools are safe, caring and welcoming places for students to learn. We commend the swift and thorough response by the school, the vigilance of the individual who made the initial report and the prompt support of the [Royal Cayman Islands Police Service] RCIPS.”

A member of the public reported the finding and the principal of the school and a security guard immediately carried out an investigation.

BB guns are not toys.

This story comes from Sherri Thornhill who regularly contributes to the Yahoo network. PLEASE read it:

“While working as a police officer in Fresno, California, I was dispatched to a call of a 10 year old boy with a gun shot wound. It turned out the boy had been accidentally shot in the head by a 12 year old playing with his BB rifle. I rushed to the room where the young victim was still laying on the floor. The child who had accidentally shot the victim, was kneeling next to him and sobbing. The BB rifle was lying nearby and the victim was convulsing and foaming at the mouth, his eyes rolling back in his head. I share the graphic scene with you so that you understand how dangerous a BB gun can be.

“The young boy, who had been shot, did survive, but he has brain damage for the rest of his life. The boy who shot him, still lives with the guilt of hurting his friend. It was an accident, the older child picked the gun up thinking it was empty. He aimed and pulled the trigger, and changed many lives that day. Those boys believed what I believed as a kid, a BB gun is just a kid’s toy and it can’t really do much harm. I remember my brother and his friends shooting each other in the arms and stomach with BB pellets as a joke. Fortunately for them, the BB guns they used were not some of the high powered pump action BB rifles that could have done serious damage. The truth is, BB guns are not toys and should not be used by minors without adult supervision. A BB gun is dangerous and it can be deadly.

“I was reminded of how harmful the pump action BB rifle can be, when I watched the CBS11 news the other night. They had a story on about a 5 year old Haltom City, Texas boy who was accidentally shot in the back of the head by his 13 year old cousin who was playing with a BB rifle. Almost the exact circumstances of the 911 call I went to over 5 years ago. This 5 year old boy spent days in the hospital in critical condition, until finally losing his fight. Now a young boy is dead and his 13 yr old cousin could potentially face charges from this incident.”

I have many questions about the incident and to me the real culprits are the parents. What are they doing about it? What action are they taking against their child involved?

And of course, where did the students obtain the gun and why was it lying BY A SCHOOL?

Thank God the gun was found by a sensible citizen of the Cayman Islands. I shudder at the thought of it getting into someone else’s hands.

A BB gun is dangerous and looks like a gun. It shoots. It is dangerous. In the hands of children it can be lethal.