VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A Virginia Beach mom has questions after her son was suspended for waiting too long to report a classmate who brought a bullet to school.
She says it sends the wrong message about "see something, say something," and she's asking for his suspension to be reversed.
Rachel Wigand’s 11-year-old son was about to take a standardized test at St. John the Apostle Catholic School in Virginia Beach last Thursday when a classmate pulled out a bullet and showed it to him.
"He knew he had to take a standardized test, he knew he had to get that done and complete, he didn't want retaliation from this individual and he didn't want the rest of the class to know that he was a snitch, so he was going to do this in an anonymous manner," Wigand said.
Her son still took his test, and told the principal about the bullet two hours later.
But the school says her son didn’t report it fast enough. Wigand said both boys were then sent home and disciplined with the same suspension.
“The kid that brings the ammunition to school gets a suspension for the exact period of time that her son got and that’s crazy. That’s outrageous,” said attorney Tim Anderson, who is representing the Wigand family. They’re asking for the school to reverse the suspension for the child who reported the bullet.
Anderson wrote that request in a letter to the Diocese of Richmond last week. On Monday, he received a response from their attorney, stating that "the school will not reduce the discipline."
The letter also stated that the disciplinary infraction would allow Wigand's son to "learn a valuable lesson."
Wigand’s mother also happens to be a member of local law enforcement, and the letter referenced that, too.
“The importance of quick reporting should be particularly apparent to [the reporting child’s] mom, as a member of law enforcement,” the attorney wrote.
That attorney did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. However, the Diocese of Richmond provided 13News Now with a statement from Dr. Michael Riley, the Superintendent of Catholic Schools:
“Our students and families are entitled to a safe and nurturing environment where learning can thrive. The school cannot, and will not, take chances when it comes to student safety. As part of this charge, we expect students to bring safety issues to the attention of school staff immediately, and our school safety policies cement this expectation.
"While it would not be appropriate to speak to specific disciplinary matters, our disciplinary practices are both clearly defined and consistently applied.”
13News Now followed up and asked if the Diocese would consider reversing the suspension, but the acting director of communications said, “It simply wouldn’t be appropriate to discuss disciplinary matters publicly.”
Wigand said the saga sends the wrong message to children.
"This is not how we train. We do not victimize our victims at all for reporting. We want people to come forward. We want people to feel safe. And we want people to do the right thing without fear of persecution which is essentially what happened," Wigand said.
Virginia Beach Police confirm officers responded to the school last week and found one bullet. No one was ever charged.