Missouri teenager suspended from school for posting picture of gun made from soda can; mother concerned

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Missouri (KY3) – A Liberty Middle School student was suspended after posting a picture of Dr. Pepper cans shaped like a high-powered rifle.

The school calls it a threat, but the boy's mother describes it as a creative act that should have gone unpunished.

“Dr Pepper Cans, is that a threat?” asked Riley Grunden, the boy’s mother.

Over the weekend, Grunden's 13-year-old son put his creativity to the test at home by stacking Dr. Pepper cans on top of each other to look like an AK-47 rifle, but he didn't experience the consequences until Tuesday at school.

The boy's mother said school administrators told her her son would have to report to the school district's main office after concerns were raised about the online post.

“When I went to headquarters, I was there to defend my son because I feel he did nothing wrong,” she said.

In a statement to KY3, the Mountain View Birch Tree School District says:

Grunden's son received a three-day suspension and his mother said she was also told her son would need to be searched after his behavior over the weekend.

“I am very angry. I feel like children can no longer be children,” she explains.

The mother says she would understand if her son posed a direct threat to the district, a school or another student. But if that were the case, “he would get in a lot of trouble not only at school but at home as well,” she said.

To report a correction or typo, please send an email to [email protected]. Please include the item information in the subject line of the email.

All rights reserved.