A Michigan middle schooler courageously disarmed a gun-carrying classmate, but was expelled when he failed to alert a teacher immediately, his furious mother claimed.
Sakir, a seventh grader at the Dwight Rich School of the Arts, allegedly spotted his classmate carrying the gun during the school day and jumped into action to protect his peers, according to reports.
“Sakir’s instinct was not to run away — it was to protect his classmates,” according to a GoFundMe set up for the young student and his family. “…preventing what could have been an unimaginable tragedy.”
However, Everett was accused of possession of a weapon and banned from the middle school.
“They kicked him out of school for the whole year,” the boy’s mother, Savitra McClurkin, told local outlet WILX on Friday.
The heroic 11-year-old’s actions unfolded back in May, but he didn’t tell his teachers out of fear of getting in trouble. It was not clear when he received the punishment.
“He didn’t want to implicate himself in it, nor did he want to tell on the person that actually brought the firearm,” McClurkin said. “Because he knows firearms aren’t supposed to be in school.”
Everett credited his hunting background for his knowledge of safely taking the gun apart.
Sakir is an “A/B student” and is active in sports at the public magnet school, according to the crowdfunding page.
The frustrated mother blasted the Lansing School District for kicking her son out of the school.
“They are setting my son up for failure. They’re setting him up to being a statistic and I’ve been doing everything in my will and my power to keep him from that,” she said.
Everett is now enrolled in a non-accredited online program to keep him on track in the curriculum until his educational future is decided.
“Online schools are honoring [the school district’s] decision. Nor did they provide us a different resource or a different avenue to go,” McClurkin said.
“It’s devastating because he’s a bright kid and all he wants to do is be a kid,” she added. “As a parent, I feel like I may be more devastated than him.”
McClurkin pleaded for her son’s reinstatement at a recent board meeting, but the members didn’t respond to the angered mother.
“What am I to do? He’s 11 years old, in seventh grade, never been in trouble before,” McClurkin questioned the school board during a recent meeting.
Community members united behind McClurkin’s pleas for help because her life was upended by the shock decision.
“Instead of being recognized as a hero, Sakir is now being treated like a criminal. He has been expelled and barred from all school platforms,” according to the GoFundMe page, which was organized on behalf of McClurkin.
“Because of this sudden expulsion, Sakir’s mother has had to take on the enormous challenge of educating him at home. This has forced her to cut back on work, creating serious financial strain on their household,” the fundraiser’s organizer wrote.
“Sakir acted out of bravery and love for his classmates. Let’s show him that same love now,” the GoFundMe petitioned.
The school district will decide after the school year on whether to reinstate Everett into the school.
It was not known if the student who brought the gun into school faced any punishments
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