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Last updated on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
(INDIANAPOLIS) - An Indianapolis boy whose mother sent him to school with a stun gun to defend himself against bullies has been expelled.
Darnell "Dynasty" Young, 17, took the stun gun to Arsenal Technical High School after he said he was taunted and bullied for months because he is gay.
After six other students surrounded him at school on April 16, calling him names and threatening to beat him up, Young said he pulled the stun gun from his backpack and raised it in the air, setting off an electric charge, and sending the group scurrying.
The boy was arrested a short time later and has been suspended pending expulsion.
Indianapolis Public Schools said Tuesday that Young would be expelled from the district through the first semester of the 2012-2013 school year. He will be able to return to school Jan. 7, 2013.
Spokeswoman Mary Louise Bewley said the district offers anti-bullying programs for all grades and that bullies are held responsible.
"While the district does not condone bullying, it also does not allow weapons to be brought on our school campuses for any reason. Students who violate this rule will be held accountable," she said.
Young told CNN earlier that he doesn't believe his actions warrant expulsion.
"I got kicked out of school for me bringing the weapon to school, but I honestly don't think that that was fair," Young said. "I didn't use it on nobody ... all I did was raise it up in the air and went back to my class."
Young's mother, Chelisa Grimes, contends that school officials haven't done enough to protect all students on campus.
"I do not promote violence - not at all - but what is a parent to do when she has done everything that she felt she was supposed to do ... at the school?" she said Sunday. "I did feel like there was nothing else left for me to do, but protect my child."
Indiana Youth Group, an LGBT advocacy group, weighed in on the issue Tuesday afternoon.
"The decision to expel Dynasty is but the latest example of the school administration's failure to take the problem of bullying seriously," said Mary Byrne, executive director of the Indiana Youth Group, in a statement. "We must prioritize, creating a safe learning environment, rather than punishing students for actions that result out of our failure to do so."
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