A 12-year-old autistic boy was placed in a Juvenile Detention Center on Monday after brandishing an imaginary rifle at his art teacher, FOX 26 reports. The 5th grade teacher reportedly felt threatened by the child, identified as David Sims, who was arrested by a school police officer. “She (the officer) just put handcuffs on me and told me I need to go with her,” Sims said.
“They just said, ‘We don’t tolerate that. We take it as a threat,'” said Amy Sims, the boy’s mother. “A threat? He didn’t threaten anyone. He didn’t do anything but play.” Amy Sims was not informed of the incident until her son was already in custody, FOX 26 reports. The mother states that because of her son’s condition, he does not understand that “make believe” gunplay on school grounds has become a sensitive matter. READ MORE