‘You’d think ... kids would know better’: Student brings toy gun to Belleville West

Police responded in force to Belleville West High School Tuesday morning when it was reported someone was waving a gun out the window of a car.

District 201 Superintendent Jeff Dosier said police were able to intercept the vehicle at about 8:15 a.m. as it pulled into the campus along Frank Scott Parkway.

“A search of the car uncovered a toy pistol,” Dosier said. “You’d think in this day and age kids would know better than to pull a stunt like this. I don’t know what we have to do to convince them not to do this sort of stuff.”

The person responsible for creating the stir is a student at the school, Dosier said. He faces not only discipline from District 201 — but also potential criminal charges.

The student was initially spotted driving down Belleville roads toward the school, coming from the direction of 11th Street, Dosier said. Passing motorists saw him waving what appeared to be a pistol out the window and called authorities.

The Belleville Police Department and the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department sent several patrol cars to the area, hoping to intercept a potentially dangerous person before he could get to the school campus.

Dosier said he believes the stunt was a kid fooling around, nothing more serious.

“I don’t think it was ever meant to be a serious threat,” Dosier said. “But, these days, you can’t take anything for granted.”

Dosier said this is not the first time a student has brought a toy gun to a district school and caused a stir. He seemed perplexed that teenagers continue to act so recklessly in a world where school shootings have become unfortunately common.

“This is another opportunity to remind students not to do things like this,” Dosier said. “With what’s going on in the world, things like this can easily get out of control.”

This story was originally published March 15, 2016 at 9:02 AM with the headline "‘You’d think ... kids would know better’: Student brings toy gun to Belleville West."