KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Overland Park middle school student who was arrested for pointing a finger gun at classmates could receive diversion.
The Johnson County District Attorney’s Office confirmed to 41 Action News that the eighth-grader would be eligible to apply for diversion after being charged with felony threatening.
If the District Attorney and the girl’s lawyers reach an agreement, a judge would not have to sign off on it, according to the DA’s office.
Overland Park police confirmed last week that a 13-year-old Westridge Middle School student was arrested Sept. 18 for directing a finger gun at several other students.
David Smith, a spokesman for the Shawnee Mission School District, told 41 Action News last week the student’s arrest was “wholly unrelated to any district policy.”
The threat was reported to the police via the district’s online reporting portal and police made the decision to place the student under arrest after she was questioned by school officials and a school resource officer.
“Ensuring the safety of everyone in a school, or community, is a top priority and requires constant vigilance, parents reminding their children of proper behavior in school and an understanding by the public that each case is thoroughly investigated before any arrest is made and a charge filed,” Overland Park police said in a statement to 41 Action News last week.
