Bad joke – photo with toy gun: two students suspended

Threats, police investigations and two suspended students: a trip by a fourth-grade class from a new secondary school in the Baden district (Lower Austria) to a career information fair would have had a most inglorious ending. The focus was on four boys with whom there had allegedly been repeated problems in the past. They started the trip on the bus with a dummy gun and two pocket knives. At least one classmate was allegedly threatened with this, concerned parents complained in a letter to the “Krone”.

Two students suspended
The Lower Austrian Education Directorate is trying to downplay the incident based on the police investigation. “No students were threatened with weapons,” a spokesperson assured. However, two of the four young people were still suspended.

The 14-year-olds allegedly photographed themselves with the gun several times during the trip and then posted the photos to social media channels during the ride home. Because these were distributed in a group with classmates, some of the school colleagues may have been afraid. They raised the alarm and showed teachers the messages. “The police, the district administration and youth care were then immediately informed,” says the Directorate of Education. The gun, which investigators said was easily identified as a fake, was taken away.

Conversations with parents and school psychologists
Because the incident required police notification, there was no alternative to suspension. The Directorate of Education emphasizes that it will remain in force until there is clarity. What happens next to the boys will largely depend on a meeting to which their parents and a school psychologist have been invited.