Students Suspended For Using Homemade Taser At SchoolNo Injuries Reported In Pea Ridge Incidents; Authorities Won't File Charges
POSTED: 7:54 pm CDT May 10, 2005
UPDATED: 8:04 pm CDT May 10, 2005
PEA RIDGE, Ark. -- Several high school students in Pea Ridge were serving suspensions Tuesday after shocking some of their peers with a homemade Taser gun.
Administrators at Pea Ridge High School said the incidents happened Friday during an awards assembly. School officials said the Taser was made out of a disposable camera and electrical wires.
According to administrators, a student found directions for a homemade Taser on the Internet, then brought the device to school. During the assembly, officials said, a 16-year-old student and four others started using the Taser to shock others.
At least three students were attacked. Officials said the students were unaware they were about to be shocked.
No injuries were reported and no medical attention was required. Most students complained of a temporary stinging sensation, administrators said.
Pea Ridge Superintendent Mike Van Dyke said he and his staff take the incident seriously but do not consider the device a weapon. He said that unlike a knife or gun, a homemade stun gun wouldn't cause bodily injury.
"We treated this like an electronic device," Van Dyke. "We have rules for that and consequences ... fighting is the most severe thing that happens here."
Three students have been suspended for three days, and two others were given in-school suspension. Officials said those involved will not face any criminal charges.
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