is this what happens nowadays when you get into a fight in school? they call the cops? when i was in school, you'd just get suspended. bad grades and being grounded for months would teach you a lesson more than community service (or whatever youth services might do). sure, if the fight involved a serious intent to injure or a weapon they would get the cops involved, but certainly not for just punching someone and slamming some chairs around.

PARENTS? IT ALL STARTS AT HOME!!

I can't even wrap my brain around a NINE year old being charged by police for ANYTHING! Kids fight, involving the police is ridiculous! Remember the fear of the paddle in the principal's office? Wow, how things have changed. I feel sorry for educators, no matter what they do, they can get into trouble for the slightest bit of discipline. Yes, Robert...it starts at home, that's all we have left!

Bottom Line- my 2 brothers and I knew that whatever punishment the school gave us(this was when the principal could paddle you) wouldn't compare to the punishment that was waiting for us at home.....ouch! But my parents never crossed the line of punishment to abusing us. Seems like the more God is forced out of schools, less parent involvement-it's the schools job to deal with them during the day,single parent families make it even harder on the parent, absentee parents- I never new anyone whose parents didn't know where they were 24/7 in elementary school but when i ask friends of my daughters if they want to use the phone to let their parents know where they are or when I will bring them home the common response is "no thank you" and only one parent has called my home to check up on their child- I call wherever my daughter is and she knows to call me if plans are changing so you take all of this plus everything else which equals the problems we have today as a society.

I remember kids getting paddled at Indian Trail and also the kids that were bad had to sit in the office during recess. Also I think kids back then also feared their parents and what would happen. We were grounded for things.

Charging a nine-yo with assault? I don't know. It seems it should be taken care of internally in the school. I feel bad for both kids. @JenniG S - yeah - if kids were scared a little more of getting in trouble at school, I bet they'd be slower to break the rules. Ugh. Yes - Home is where it needs to start.

Well it sounds like this child has been in trouble before and we don't know all the details. With all that is going on in schools maybe the principle needs to set an example that he has zero tolerance. I don't blame him at all.

Wait a second... So all week, people have been posting comments asking why we don't identify potentially violent kids earlier and why nothing is done to prevent them from harming people. Then, when we have a 9 year old who, according to the article...
1: Punches another child in the face for tagging him out in a game
2: Has a history of similar incidents
3: Threw a violent tantrum, hitting chairs and walls when he was stopped
...people are outraged that the school officials involved the police? Someone needs to teach children like this that their actions have consequences and obviously it's not happening at home. Protecting society from violent people involves identifying escalating violent behavior early, before someone is seriously hurt.

Exactly Doug...and according to the "experts", you need a paper trail of incidents. He is just doing his job.

I agree with Doug. And I feel terrible for the boy. Obviously something is going on at home and I hope family services gets involved.

I have two children at Indian Trail and this is the first time I have heard anything about this! That's a little concerning to me. I do feel the school did the right thing by calling police in and hopefully this will open the child's eyes to consequences of unacceptable behavior and the parent's eyes to the issues going on!

Yep, Doug, can't disagree. It is a shame to involve the police and courts in this, but we must begin identifying problem kids early and documenting these behaviors. Tough spot for the school administrators to be in, but i agree, they went the right direction.

There's that IB training for you! Good job, Principal Lacoste! Call the cops on a 9 yr. old ...... good grief. But wait a minute ...... wasn't that student being a "risk-taker"? Oh, gosh, this is NOT going to look good on his IB Learner Profile, whatever will they think of this misfit in Geneva?

A couple days ago in Utah a 6th grader took a loaded .22 into school & pointed it at classmates during recess. Kids and their parents need to be held responsible, because it has gotten out of hand. I support ZERO tolerance these days. Better to be safe than sorry.

Excellent point Doug! Shewithnoname, get a life!

This sounds like a very troubled kid. I would suggest that children's services investigate his home environment. It may offer some clues as to why he is so volitile at such a young age. Surely, if there are no obvious signs of problems at home, the parents would agree that he needs help. The sooner the intervention, the sooner this child can get back on the right track, and have a chance for a decent life.

1. Were the boy's parents called BEFORE the police were summoned?
2. Was the boy taken out of the school in handcuffs?
3. Does this student have an IEP?

1. Calls probably went out simultaneously
2. Silly question
3. None of your business, why would you even ask that question?

@shewithnoname

I could have answered I don't know just like you could ask questions that matter. How would knowing the answer to any of those questions help anything?

This kid is a trouble maker (yes, I have kids at Indian Trail so I can say that), he was FINALLY dealt with appropriately and only time will tell if it changes his normally violent behavior. If it doesn't, next step should be expelltion.

And no, this individual kids bad behavior is not a black eye to the awesome IB program that my children benefit from everyday.

Feliz Navidad!

I have been reading this and if this kid isn't identified as needing help in some way isn't he a future shooter. With the charges come eye's on him and the family, by officials. Sometimes this is the only way for help to be given, as requesting help sometimes falls on deaf ears.

... hmmm - I remember that we had a 'bully' in grade school. We all just 'lived with it'.
We were all in fear of him- but I really do not remember any blood-letting he caused. It sounds like this child reached a level of violence- after the playground incident, where the school officials could not cope and the police were an appropriate response. With the repeated history of violence it sounds like this was the last straw.