Four Casper students who brought Airsoft pellet guns to school recently have been suspended and two of those students have either been or will be expelled.

The three separate incidents happened during the last couple of weeks and involved four boys, said Wayne Beatty, safe schools administrator for the Natrona County School District. Three of the boys are students at Kelly Walsh High School and the fourth is an eighth-grader at Poison Spider Elementary. Earlier this year, there were two boys from Natrona County High School who brought the pellet guns into school, Beatty said.

"The reason why two of the boys are being expelled is because they took them and aimed them at other people," Beatty said. "No one got hurt. They intended no harm."

Beatty said it was a lapse in judgment by the boys. The pellet guns resemble real firearms. The guns are sometimes altered and the mandatory orange tip is removed or covered, making them look realistic.

"They're designed to be toys but they look like the real thing," he said, adding that they also come in rifle form and resemble an AK-47.

The pellets, which are round and brightly colored, can hurt someone if they make contact, Beatty said. They fire by a spring-power system.

Per district policy, the students received an automatic 10-day suspension for bringing in the pellet guns. The policy calls for district officials to conduct an investigation and make a recommendation to the superintendent which could mean expulsion. If expelled, students can be removed from school for the entire semester, Beatty said.

District policy prohibits students from bringing weapons and items that look like weapons such as water and toy guns on school property including the parking lot. Students also can't have them in their vehicles, which are subject to be searched.

The suspended and expelled students will still go to school, but in an alternative learning environment such as the Safe School Suspension Lab. The students won't get any breaks during the day and will be searched upon arrival, Beatty said.

Generally, incidents where students bring weapons or items that look like weapons to school result in expulsion, information from the district indicated.

Reporter Aimee Tabor can be reached at (307) 266-0593 or aimee.tabor@casperstartribune.net.