As a parent in McDonough, you try very hard to ensure your child will follow the rules and behave him- or herself, but you also know that sometimes children will do something without thinking of the consequences. Most of the time, the consequences aren't too severe, but sometimes they are shocking. In this story, Georgia parents may be alarmed to find out that a 10-year-old boy may be indicted on a felony weapons charge.

The boy's school has alleged that the child brought an unloaded flare gun to school and was playing with it on the school playground. This school, like many others across Georgia and across the country, has a district policy that prohibits bringing a "dangerous" weapon on school grounds. Although the policy includes unloaded and fake firearms that can be mistaken for real weapons in the definition of a dangerous weapon, the flare pistol the boy supposedly brought was bright orange and clearly not a real gun.

After another student reported the fake pistol to a teacher, she tried to take it away from the boy. Much like any other 10-year-old facing the threat of a toy being confiscated, the child initially tried to hide the flare. Eventually, however, the teacher brought the boy, his friends and the pistol to school administrators and called the police.

While stories such as this have been repeated across the country numerous times over, what happens next is what makes this story unique. The local district attorney's office is considering whether it should charge the boy with felony possession of an illegal weapon on school grounds. Even if he doesn't end up in jail or with a serious criminal record, he may also be looking for a new school, as the school principal and the district director of elementary education may expel him.

There is no guarantee that this could not happen to your child, and if it does, a criminal defense attorney may be able to get charges dropped or the damage of a criminal conviction mitigated so your child doesn't have the consequences of one minor mistake hanging over his or her head for the rest of his or her life.

Source: Loveland Reporter-Herald, "Van Buren Elementary student brings unloaded flare gun to school," Madeline Novey, Jan. 11, 2012