11-year-old Michigan student expelled after disarming classmate with gun, sparking outcry

An 11-year-old student in Lansing, Michigan, was expelled for the full academic year after disarming a classmate who arrived at Dwight Rich School of the Arts with a loaded firearm, according to family accounts and school officials. Sakir Everett, a seventh-grader, reportedly took the gun, removed the ammunition, and dismantled the weapon, actions his supporters say likely prevented a mass shooting. The district has not publicly explained its decision, but family members and community advocates say the expulsion was for failing to report the incident immediately.

Everett’s mother, Savitra McClurkin, said she was told the district expelled him for not reporting the incident to staff right away. She has launched a public campaign to have her son reinstated, arguing that he acted to protect classmates and that he did what any student could reasonably do in a crisis. “They kicked him out of school for the whole year,” she told WILX. “He's never been in trouble before. He was trying to protect his classmates. He didn't want to implicate himself in it, nor did he want to tell on the person that actually brought the firearm. Because he knows firearms aren't supposed to be in school.” The GoFundMe campaign created to support the family frames Sakir as a youth hero, noting that his instinct was to act rather than flee.

Sakir reportedly used knowledge from activities outside the classroom—described by his mother as part of a hunting background—to disassemble the weapon, separate the ammunition, and dispose of the bullets. His family says he’s an athletic, respectful student who has never before been in trouble and was simply trying to avert tragedy.

Since the expulsion, McClurkin says she has enrolled Sakir in a non-accredited online program after finding that accredited online schools would not enroll him while the district’s decision stands. “Online schools are honoring [the district’s] decision. Nor did they provide us a different resource or a different avenue to go,” she said, describing the path as financially and logistically difficult for a single parent who has had to scale back work hours to educate him at home.

The district has said it will revisit the question of Sakir’s reinstatement at the end of the academic year, a timetable his mother dismisses as insufficient. “What am I to do?” she asked during a public Lansing School Board meeting, where she pleaded for her son’s return to school. The board offered no public response and did not indicate any immediate review of the case.

The district has declined to comment publicly on Sakir’s case, citing privacy concerns. Critics say the silence underscores broader tensions around how schools balance safety with the rights and futures of students who intervene in dangerous situations. The community and neighborhood advocates have pressed for policy changes that would recognize acts of courage by students while ensuring due process in disciplinary actions.

Sakir’s case has drawn attention to a broader debate about school safety, reporting requirements for incidents involving weapons, and how districts decide when to discipline students who take protective actions. Supporters argue that the district’s decision risks discouraging students from acting to protect others, especially when young people are influenced by family and community experiences. Opponents say districts must consider the risk to other students and staff and apply due process in any disciplinary action.