Second-grader suspended for holding pencil like a gun

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SUFFOLK, Va., May 7 (UPI) -- A Suffolk, Va., second-grader was suspended for pointing a pencil at a fellow student and making gun-like noises, a school spokeswoman said.

Christopher Marshall, 7, said he and a classmate were playing in class at Driver Elementary School Friday when the teacher asked them to stop pointing pencils at each other.

"I was being a Marine and the other guy was being the bad guy," Christopher later explained to his father, Paul Marshall, a former Marine.

The Suffolk school system has a "zero tolerance policy" on weapons, WAVY-TV, Portsmouth, Va., noted.

"A pencil is a weapon when it is pointed at someone in a threatening way, and gun noises are made," said Bethanne Bradshaw, Suffolk Public Schools spokeswoman. "Some children consider it threatening, who are scared about shootings in schools or shootings in the community."

The boy's parents say the school overreacted, noting the teacher's comment on the suspension report, "I told him to stop and he did."

The suspension will last for two days, WAVY-TV reported.