By: Teresa Mull

A 12-year-old boy in Colorado was suspended from school for five days for having a neon green toy gun with an orange tip during a virtual class.

Fox5DC reports:

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said although the teacher thought it was a toy gun, authorities still did a welfare check on Isaiah Elliott without parental notification.

“It was really frightening and upsetting for me as a parent, especially as the parent of an African-American young man, especially given what’s going on in our country right now,” Curtis Elliott, Isaiah’s father, told KDVR.

He said his son, who has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and has learning disabilities, wasn’t aware the gun was shown on screen in his distance learning.

“He was in tears when the cops came. He was just in tears. He was scared. We all were scared. I literally was scared for his life,” said Curtis Elliott.

“The virtual setting is not the same as the school setting,” the dad added. “He did not take the toy gun to school. He’s in the comfort of his own home. It’s a toy.”

According to Fox News, “The parents are looking to enroll their son in a charter or private school.

“‘I definitely feel they crossed the line,’” said the mom. “‘They were extreme with their punishment, especially sending the police out and traumatizing my son and my family.’”

Teresa Mull ([email protected]) is editor of Gunpowder Magazine.