MURFREESBORO – Two students here at Hertford County Middle School were suspended for a full year earlier this week after it was learned they possessed a toy-like weapon.

Dr. Michael Perry, Superintendent of Hertford County Public Schools, confirmed that suspension, stressing that at no time were any of the students, faculty or staff on campus in any danger.

“There was no intention of harm, either pre-meditated or otherwise,” Dr. Perry said on Friday. “According to the information provided to me from (HCMS Principal) Dr. (Vatara) Slade, it was a show-and-tell situation where one student was showing another a toy-like weapon. We feel that another student witnessed what they believed was a weapon and reported it to a staff member at the school.”

Both of the suspended students are enrolled in the seventh grade.

“Dr. Slade followed the book in handling the situation as the weapon was immediately secured and the parents of the two students involved were contacted,” Perry said. “The situation posed no danger to anyone on campus.”

Perry said the policy of Hertford County Public Schools calls for an automatic 365-day suspension for any student in possession of any type of weapon on campus, to include toy or “facsimile” weapons.

“When it comes to weapons on any of our campuses, our school system has a zero tolerance policy that was put in place several years ago,” Perry noted. “We take such things very seriously for the safety of our students, faculty, staff and visitors to our schools. Weapons, real or otherwise, are not tolerated on our campuses.”