Police: 11-Year-Old Arrested For Using Slingshot

[The Straight Story]

Police: 11-Year-Old Arrested For Using Slingshot

TAVARES, Fla. -- An 11-year-old Tavares boy is facing serious charges for using a slingshot to launch an object into a classmate's chest, according to police.

Police said the sixth-grader at Tavares Middle School used his toy as a weapon when he hit another boy in the chest Friday at school. The 11-year-old was arrested and faces charges of shooting or throwing a deadly missile, and as much as three weeks in an Ocala juvenile-detention center while awaiting his next court hearing.

The boy's mother and lawyer said authorities went too far with the arrest and charges.

But a Lake County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman defends the arrest, saying the attack was "a pretty hard hit."

The boy's lawyer said he will file a motion to have the boy released to his family until the case is resolved.

http://www.local6.com/news/11061248/detail.html

Item #1: What else could Harry have pulled out of the sorting hat in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets?

*Salazar Slytherin's Semi-Automatic Slingshot: Unfortunately, although semi-automatic, Slytherin's slingshot would have been no match against the Basilisk. Besides, there were no rocks handy for ammo, so Harry would have only had a few chances at hitting the snake.
http://www.harrypotterfacts.com/_columns_amanda-smyth_different.htm

--Good thing we outlawed the semi-automatic sling shot. Whew!

[Orrex]

1. Where I live, a slingshot is considered a firearm

Many years ago I got a serious talking-to by a police officer after I'd spent a morning launching cranberries and tiny pebbles over a small street and into a neighbor's empty field.

No charges have been filed as of the time of this airing.

[meldroc]

19. I don't doubt it. Slingshots can be lethal.

They can hurl projectiles with a significant amount of force. They are not toys.

[slackmaster]

47. As a person with monocular vision I conider them especially dangerous

Even a partial loss of vision can cripple a person for life. My eye problems kept me out of the career of my choice.

[Crayson]

103. The kind you buy in an arms store?...

... or the branch and rubberband version?

[Kolesar]

2. the boy is a fright

but holding him up to three weeks until a court date is a bit much. Can they put the kid to work picking vegetables on an island where he won't hurt anybody?

[zbdent]

3. Mr. Wilson finally fed up?

[piedmont]

4. Slingshots ARE NOT toys

You can kill with a slingshot (duh).

[PLF]

5. Yes, let's funnel him into the prison system

otherwise Wackenhut might go broke.

[piedmont]

7. Did I say we should funnel this kid into the prison system? No...

I said slingshots are not toys-- they are weapons that have the potential to be deadly. Shooting someone in the chest with one deserves consequences. I didn't say those consequences should involve prison time.

[PLF]

10. The boy was arrested.

[piedmont]

12. As he should have been.

[PLF]

13. loop back to post #5

[piedmont]

18. You don't seem to understand the difference between "arrested" and "sentenced to prison"

No trial has taken place, and we don't even know what the charges are. At any rate, in my post you first responded to I stated that slingshots are not toys, as they are referred to in the article. Do you disagree with that statement?

[PLF]

20. Actually you don't understand how schools are pushing kids into the

criminal justice system.

Calling the cops was not necessary.

[piedmont]

21. Again, what part of "slingshots are NOT toys" do you disagree with?

And yes, I do understand that school personnel are usually too eager to get the cops involved in disciplinary matters that should be handled in-school. But if this kid aimed and fired his slingshot at another kid, and if the projectile was a rock or steel bearing, he certainly should have been arrested. If my kid had been the target, I would have demanded it, and pressed charges.

[PLF]

22. I could care less what you think about slingshots.

Calling the cops was not necessary no matter how apoplectic you get.

School to Prison Pipeline - An Overview
http://www.aclu.org/crimjustice/juv/24704res20060321.html
The ACLU is committed to challenging the "school to prison pipeline," a disturbing national trend wherein children, disproportionately children of color, are being funneled out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. The ACLU is working to challenge numerous policies and practices within public school systems and the juvenile justice system that contribute to the school to prison pipeline.

[Goblinmonger]

23. Be careful not to condemn a specific instance

because of a trend. This instance needed the police to be involved. Shooting a projectile with a slingshot into the chest of another student goes beyond the normal disciplinary role of the schools. I would argue that the kid should be expelled since he is a danger to other students unless I had reliable knowledge that this wouldn't happen again.

[PLF]

27. I disagree, it's as simple as that.

But then again, I don't quiver and shake in fear everytime some kid does something stupid.

[slackmaster]

29. It wasn't just a stupid act

It was mean and violent.

[PLF]

33. I'm sorry, I didn't know you were there.

My apologies. Since you know the kid personally I'll take your word for it.

[slackmaster]

35. Non sequitur

What post were you trying to reply to?

[PLF]

57. You know all about this kids state of mind. I assumed you were there.

Am I wrong about your proximity to this event?

[slackmaster]

62. What kind of state of mind would you attribute to a child who shoots another child

With a slingshot?

This isn't a two-year-old doing something random. By the time I was 11 I knew how to handle firearms, and had a healthy respect for all kinds of weapons.

[PLF]

64. He's the next Charlie Manson.

You already said so. I'll just take your word for it.

That deadly plastic pellet missile might be grounds to send him to Guantanamo.

[slackmaster]

78. RIF

I said no such thing.

[PLF]

85. You invoked the name of Charlie Manson

I can't help but laugh.

[slackmaster]

87. Would you feel better if I'd used John Wayne Gacy?

[PLF]

93. Ol' charlie was a good boy until his mommy gave him a sling shot

After that it was all down hill.

[slackmaster]

95. According to him things got bad when she traded him for a pitcher of beer

It wasn't even good beer.

[WI_DEM]

82. You sure like to put words into people's mouths instead of trying to back up your pov.

[Goblinmonger]

39. Two things

1. Do you know the race of the kids in the OP and the race of the victim? 'Cause the study you posted is about funneling african-american kids into the prison system.
2. Doing something that could kill someone (which a direct blow to the heart with a hard object could do) is just "something stupid"? When SHOULD the police be called? What level of violence should teachers have to deal with?

[PLF]

41. I'm thinking at this point he might deserve the death penalty.

[Goblinmonger]

44. Hyperbole doesn't become you

At least not in this instance. Where the hell has anyone on this thread even argued remotely for anything close to that. The only argument is that this is NOT something that the school should deal with on its own. This was assault with a deadly weapon. Isn't that enough to get the police involved? Do teachers have to wait until a kid actually gets killed before they call the police? (Note: I am not saying that the kid with the slingshot in the OP is destined to kill a kid, just wondering at what point you would get off the back of the teachers and agree a call to the police is justifiable--If I were a betting man, I would put a couple bucks on the fact that you ignore my note and react to what I am trying to make clear here).

[PLF]

52. Listen I simply disagree with you about what is going on in our schools.

You don't have to agree with my assessment and you don't have to convince me of your view.

There is an effort by schools to funnel kids into the criminal justice system and it's not just "black kids" as if that makes any difference.

Kids kick each other all the time as well. He could have been suspended but I think this was just another excuse.

You don't have to agree.

[Goblinmonger]

58. I agree some schools funnel kids too quickly

And the link you gave was talking how this funnel was disproportionately for children of color, which is why I commented on it.

The link provided downthread indicates it was the school police liason that decided it needed to go further than the school--though I suppose you will see that as part of the problem, too.

[PLF]

66. disproportionately does not equal all

it happens to white kids too.

But heck, just look at his mug-shot. You can tell he's a killer.

[Goblinmonger]

68. What should schools do IN THIS INSTANCE?

What should teachers put up with before they go outside the school? At what point does it become an issue that teachers aren't trained to deal with and others need to be brought in? Would you be forgiving if only a minor discipline was done to this kid and he went on to do "bigger and better things"? Would you defend teachers with the same passion you have when calling them out (when the decision to call the police was not even made by them nor the administration but by the liason officer)?

[PLF]

69. Total lock-down, call out the SWAT team, maybe evacuate the entire school

He's a vicious killer, just look at his mugshot.

Hell one of you have already pointed out he could be the next Charlie Manson.

Actually, they could have just called his mom and sent home or any number of things.

I haven't really said anything about the teacher so I'm not sure why you are acting like a bashed the teacher.

[The Straight Story]

71. I dunno - that reminds me of the movie Minority Report

'Would you be forgiving if only a minor discipline was done to this kid and he went on to do "bigger and better things"?'


Doing things now based on what we think will be future crimes. He had a balloon, shot a pellet at a kid, I don't really see him as becoming the next serial killer based on that :)

I could be wrong of course, and permanent incarceration might do well when we think someone might do something later because of what they did when they were 11.

I should probably turn myself in now, I think I threw a snowball which was mostly ice at a kid at the bus stop.... :rofl:

[RiverStone]

75. see post 74.

peace~
:)

[RiverStone]

74. Do you work in the schools?

Having spent over 15 years in public education, and given the climate and concern the past few years with high profile school violence -I can tell you that unequivocally, it was warranted to call the police.

Teachers and administrators are charged with providing a safe environment to all children who attend. Parents have a right to assume that his/her child will not be subjected to harm, harassment, or even threats of violence in school. School personnel MUST take every measure possible to maintain a safe school environment. I know that if a similar incident happened under my watch - if the school did NOT call the police - not only would there be liability concerns but very angry parents as well. When you have buildings with 500+ students in them, it is always best to err on the side of protecting kids. Imagine what it is like trying to oversee the safety of that many children.

It's not up to the school to file charges or decide if the child will be released to parents. Thats is a decision for law enforcement and the prosecuting attorney's office.

The schools charge is to (try and) keep kids safe during the day. Period.

Any concerns of over-reacting should be directed at the legal system. Though in this case, we (as a school) would have done the exact same thing.

[PLF]

84. Him and his plastic pellet, he's a wild killer I tell yah.

[Goblinmonger]

99. You know

it's pretty easy for you to make flippant comments but what about the people that are actually there. In the moment. No benefit of hindsight. You keep saying they should be able to handle it and it was stupid to call the police (and then you say that you aren't bashing the teachers), but it really isn't that easy.

[AngryAmish]

105. At 11, one commits assault with a deadly weapon almost daily

Ever been in a rock fight? That is assault (and battery) with a deadly weapon. However at 11 one does not have the ability to make proper decisions. And every normal kid has rock fights.

This is not a crime.

[Goblinmonger]

108. You don't know that

Maybe this kid is a complete whackjob. Maybe he isn't. You and I don't know. Just because his mom gets us all emotional with "shivering" as he was taken away means nothing. What I do know from reading the article was that the proper chain was followed.

Kid does something stupid and physically harmful to another student.
Teacher tells the administration.
Administration contacts the in-building police liason officer.
Officer decides it is severe enough to call the district attorney.

I will agree that the law that makes this a mandatory stint in juvenille detention is a little absurd, but who do you fault along the way?

[treestar]

81. Surely that wouldn't include use of a gun

or a knife.

This is dangerous too. It's not a toy.

[slackmaster]

26. How would you feel if your child had been the victim?

If my child got shot at school I'd demand that the shooter and his negligent parents be arrested, then proceed to raise hell with the school for not doing a better job of keeping kids from bringing weapons into the classroom.

At age 11 he may still be redeemable.

[PLF]

30. "redeemable"

:rofl:

Yes, he's definitely heading for a life of crime.

[slackmaster]

32. Do you think it's normal for an 11-year-old to behave in a violent manner?

I don't.

[PLF]

37. He's a violent killer. He must be incarcerated. Possibly a captial offense.

He may not be redeemable after all.

[slackmaster]

40. Charles Manson was 11 years old once

:nuke:

[PLF]

42. and he probably played with slingshots

[ieoeja]

55. Charles Manson was also 13 once.

They threw him in jail. We know how that worked out. One must wonder how it would have worked out had he not been disposed of at an early age.

[slackmaster]

59. No, Manson was not thrown in jail at 13

His mother tried to find a foster home for him and failed. He was put into a reform school called the Gibault School for Boys in Terre Haute, IN.

http://www.gibault.org/%5C./about/default.asp

Manson had done enough violent crimes before the Tate-LaBianca murders that by all rights he should have been in prison.

[slackmaster]

38. He's already there

Assaulting someone with a slingshot is a crime, even in Florida.

[PLF]

54. He's the next Charlie Manson.

:rofl:

[slackmaster]

65. People like you give Democrats a reputation for being soft on crime

:argh:

[PLF]

67. Haha, shall we call freeperville and get their approval now or later?

:rofl:

Man that is pretty rich.


On second thought, I'm sure we were just joking.

[AngryAmish]

106. God, I'm glad I didn't go to school with your kid

Would you stamp your little feet and demand arrests of everyone who said your kid was ugly, too?

[piedmont]

36. I assume you actually "could *NOT* care less" about my opinion on slingshots

and if that's the case, why did you reply to my post in which I stated that slingshots are not toys?

Calling the cops was not necessary no matter how apoplectic you get.
And 5 posts into this utterly pointless sub-thread, you have yet to declare why you think this particular case should be handled by the school and not by the cops. Just because it's your pet issue doesn't mean every case is an example of the trend you've been reading on the ACLU's website. And kindly point out an example of my "getting apoplectic" anywhere in this thread.

[uppityperson]

96. Should the police be called if a 11 yr old assaults someone?

[piedmont]

97. see post #83

Hi uppityperson, don't waste your time feeding him/her.

[Crayson]

101. they are toys actually...

At least I played with slingshots as a child...
And with bow and arrow.
Lo and behold, I even built my own crossbow once!!

EVERY YOUTH with access to a decent wood, creek or at least some undergrowth cuts some branch, bends it and binds a piece of string between the ends gets some more twigs and sharpens the points!
And yes! You could kill somebody or put an eye out!

But hey! Why not try and actually get involved with your children and EXPLAIN to them that these toys are not to be pointed at other people! Nobody protected me or my fellow kids and we all survived our childhood with just a few cuts.

Instead of trying to protect your children from the world, you should try and PREPARE them for the world.

Ever more laws and policing won't protect people from falling down if they're never allowed to learn to walk properly!
And to think for themselves!

[WI_DEM]

80. Did the person say that?

[piedmont]

83. Nope, I didn't-- but that didn't seem to matter

I think we have an attention-whore here. The poster ignores the points of those he/she is debating, puts up the flimsiest of straw-men, and doesn't offer ANY shred of an argument for what he/she actually believes. Kinda pointless.

[donco6]

92. Yes, that's clear from the posts.

Not worth bothering with.

[uppityperson]

98. alert can be fun.

[The Straight Story]

49. PS (to all on subthread)- see more info below, was a balloon sling shot (nt)

[slackmaster]

76. We used rubber bands and our thumb and forefinger when I was a kid

That kind of thing is not tolerated at all in schools now, and for good reasons.

[Crayson]

102. You can kill with virtually anything.

Name me a thing I can't kill you with.
Test my imagination.
^_^

[leveymg]

6. Even without a slingshot, rocks can do serious injury.

When she was 8, my daughter got caught between two groups of rock-throwing boys (no, I don't live on the West Bank). She was at a neighbor's birthday party, and was brought home covered in blood with her skull showing from a 1 1/2 inch gash on her forehead.

She was lucky there was an excellent surgeon on duty, no concussion, and the wound wasn't 2 inches lower, or she would have lost an eye.

This isn't just a prank.

We didn't call the cops or sue -- we handled it with the boy's mother -- but we certainly would have had justification to do so.

[LiberalEsto]

8. They were illegal when I was a kid

back in NJ in the early 1960s.

[Hippo_Tron]

9. At least they didn't tazer the kid

But having him spend three weeks in a juvenile detention facility is a bit extreme. Also, I don't see why this would go to trial. The prosecutor should just make a deal that the kid has to do some community service or something.

[Katherine Brengle]

15. I don't think it's unreasonable --

kids who act out like this are usually on track to do it again, or worse. Maybe this will teach him.

[PLF]

24. no amount of fascist bullshit is unreasonable for some people

Schools are becoming a gateway to prison for many kids.

Things that in the past might have resulted in simple punishment now are being used as a way to funnel these kids into the criminal justice system.

[slackmaster]

28. Some of those kids belong in the criminal justice system

You cannot legitimately say, based on the information we have here, that in this particular instance the 11-year-old with a slingshot is not deserving of being put into the system.

I'd rather see the bad apples weeded out early than have them get into adult trouble later.

[PLF]

46. Yeah, the justice system works so well for our kids.

And you cannot say that he does belong in the system.

[slackmaster]

51. We'll just have to let the system figure out whether or not he belongs there

I have no problem with letting the case run its natural course. If authorities overreacted, the boy won't be prosecuted.

[PLF]

70. yeah the system works so well

:eyes:

[Katherine Brengle]

109. .

Yep, that's me, lover of fascist bullshit.

Get over yourself.

[Goblinmonger]

25. I'm guessing (hoping?) we don't know the whole story.

Perhaps little Denise the Menace has been in trouble before.

[slackmaster]

31. I would bet money on it

n/t

[Goblinmonger]

43. Well, you never know

because apparently everyone in education is timid, scared, and jumps at the chance to send any kid to jail for any little offense.

Sadly, I need to add :sarcasm:

[AlCzervik]

11. when we were kids my dad bought a wrist rockets that we were only allowed to

use on paper targets, he also supplied up with small ball bearings, sling shots can be a very dangerous thing.

[depakid]

90. A wrist rocket is an entirely different matter.

You can REALLY mess someone up with a good sized ball bearing. I reckon that a head shot would be deadly.

This however, was a laughable excuse for a slingshot- and the whole story provides yet another reason that I'm glad that I won't be raising kids in America.

[AngryAmish]

107. A wrist rocket head shot is not necessarily deadly

Unfortunately I know. It hurts like hell. Might take an eye out. However it lacks both the mass and velocity to kill. It raises a nasty welt, tho.

[Katherine Brengle]

14. Good, slingshots can do a lot of damage.

It's a weapon, not a toy, and he used it to harm someone.

[valerief]

16. Another troop-in-training for a BFEE war. nt

[BoneDaddy]

17. Don't be so flippant

It is a weapon and if you get shot in the eye or in the temple with it, the potential for death is high.

That said, I played with one as a kid, I just didn't shoot people with it.

[malaise]

34. I swear my entire generation should all be in Bushco prisons

Of course we only used paper in our slingshots.

[Goblinmonger]

45. I doubt that is what happened in the OP

None of us know the facts from this article, but I am guessing we are talking about something with a little more density than paper.

[The Straight Story]

48. More info on the story

TAVARES -- A sixth-grader's crudely made balloon slingshot turned into a "deadly weapon" when the boy fired the contraption at another student, authorities said Monday.

Lake deputy sheriffs say Kevin Cottle, 11, a student at Tavares Middle School, used his toy as a weapon when he hit another boy in the chest Friday at school. A report from the incident said the slingshot's plastic pellet left a welt on the other student, whose name wasn't released Monday.

Now Kevin faces charges of shooting or throwing a deadly missile, a second-degree felony, and as much as three weeks in an Ocala juvenile-detention center while awaiting his next court hearing. Outraged by his arrest, Kevin's mother, Pam Cottle, said authorities "went off the deep end," carting her shivering son off in handcuffs and keeping him locked up until next month.


Kevin Cottle's mug shot
Feb 20, 2007

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/education/orl-lkidarrested2007feb20,0,4144001.story?coll=orl-news-education-headlines

[slackmaster]

50. OMG - PLF - Look here, quickly!

You can call off the ACLU.

He's WHITE! Freckle-faced, even.

But he does have kind of a cold, mean look in his eyes, doesn't he?

[malaise]

53. The ACLU is needed here

This is rubbish.

[Goblinmonger]

61. I agree

the ACLU needs to look at the legislation that makes his detention mandatory. It was not the school's, nor the police's, nor the DA's decision to detain the kid for that long. It was what was required by the law. That law needs to be changed.

Police still needed to be called, though.

[PLF]

63. plastic pellet = "deadly missile"

:rofl:


OH, and yes white kids are never abused by the system, they are white and all. :eyes:

[Goblinmonger]

56. Thanks for the link

I still agree that the police should have been called. And actually that call was not made by teachers nor administration but the police liason officer. Holding him for three weeks is a little bizarre and seems like a legislative problem rather than a school one.

[mdmc]

60. Bullys RULE!

ha ha (<- Nelson Muntz)

[RL3AO]

72. Heres what I think.

He should have been arrested and sent to juvie (sp?) for the night then released until trail. This of course assuming he has no history of violence. If he has a history, then keep him in juvie.

[Deja Q]

73. Did the boy go around shooting people for fun, or was he provoked and had no outlet but to

fire at the one poking and prodding?

[slackmaster]

77. There's no indication the boy is a Muslim

If that's what you are getting at.

[WI_DEM]

79. Hey, slingshots can kill or they can put out an eye or maim a person

I doubt the kid will be sent to jail, prison, or anything that extreme. And he probably shouldn't be. Being arrested may be enough to teach him a lesson.

[The Straight Story]

86. Picture of the weapon (sling shot) from an updated article

[slackmaster]

88. Looks like a potential eye killer

And probably hard to aim.

[The Straight Story]

89. looks like an oversized condom for bush (nt)

[depakid]

91. Florida is one sick state

This is not the first time that authorities have abused and overcharged kids- and I'm sure it won't be the last.

[Gabi Hayes]

94. the original slingshot terrorist

[benEzra]

100. Depending on the slingshot and projectile, that could be like shooting him in the chest

with a powerful air rifle.

I don't think slingshots should be banned, but I DO think that shooting somebody in the chest with one is Serious Business.

My son has an artificial, and relatively fragile, pulmonary artery that exits the bottom of his heart and runs up the front, just behind the chest wall. A shot to the chest from a slingshot, using a steel ball, could easily be FATAL to somebody like that. Even for somebody with normal anatomy, a ball could conceivably puncture the chest wall, or (as slackmaster mentioned above) blind the victim.

If the kid shot his friend in the chest with a paper wad, that's one thing. Plastic pellet, maybe not a big deal, though that type of bullying still should be dealt firmly with. Steel ball bearing, that could be felony aggravated assault, or assault with a deadly weapon. So it depends on the circumstances.

[The Flaming Red Head]

104. I got hit with sling shots, bee bees, pellet rifles,

When I was growing up no one got arrested for that shit.

One time my friend and I climbed high up in a tree with a branch hanging over the yard of another friend who had a party and didn’t invite us (we were in 6th grade and 11 years old) we had ten pound bag of ice and we nailed everyone at that party.

I guess we should still be in prison for that one.

Ice could be deadly weapon, ice could put someone's eye out, yeah yeah yeah