US student suspended for doodling stick figures with guns; father slams school for not allowing son to 'express himself'

A Class VII student in North Carolina was reportedly suspended post sketching a picture of stick figures holding guns and knives.

The 13-year-old boy, a student of Roseboro Salemburg Middle School in Sampson County, was suspended for two days over a doodle exhibiting one stick figure holding what seemed to be a rifle and another carrying two large knives.

“Schools are on heightened alert after the tragedy in Florida and safety is our highest priority,” Dr. Eric Bracy, superintendent of Sampson County Schools, said in a statement.

The boy’s father James Herring was taken aback because his son was suspended for ‘just expressing himself’.

He expressed his surprise by saying, “When I see that, I see a normal 13-year-old boy. I drew pictures like this; any other person of his age drew drawings like this. It’s nothing to get expelled from school for.”