I hope this is taken seriously by the authorities and not a hand-slap!

Where are the parents. In some school districts, this is an automatic one year suspension. Not sure how Mahwah will handle. Parents should be notified of the kid's name as well.

Let me get this straight. An 8th grader was playing army in the woods, and you two geniuses want him expelled and prosecuted?

I'm sure the consequences will be serious BUT the schools and PD really have to make sure the public is made aware of the outcome ASAP. Thankfully the Patch here is excellent in covering the local news.

That sounds like a severely disturbed young man with the potential to do disturbing things. I hope that testing and treatment are being prepared before his actions escalate into a repeat performance like we are witnessing in the news! This absolutely needs to be taken seriously and unfortunately will probably never find out who this is or how it was handled. I am a parent with children in the Mahwah schools and I want to know that my children are safe. At this point in time, I have to believe they are no safer than the innocent children in CT.

Thank heavens Seiko took action to protect their employees before a six year old in a Darth Vader costume showed up.

Malcolm it is no laughing matter what has happened in recent days to innocent children and teachers. Perhaps what you are missing here is THAT child was also in danger. If he raised the weapon (fake or not) at the police he could have been shot himself. If you want to be insensitive do it privately.

Thank you DC

The traffic event at Sandy Hooke have shocked America to enough change the gun law in which I haply oblige. Though just taking the gun away are not going to do anything, we need to pushes the people who abuse the 2 amendment even the parents. Were is this 13 year old boy parents, will they get punished? No not with a fine, with time HARD TIME maybe even some parenting classes. How do you let your kid walk out of the house with a semi automatic gun in a camouflage suit AND NOT STOP THEM OR CALL THE POLICE?
"Hey dad I'm going out side to play?"
"With what and who"
"Just you gun a a camo suit"
"Have fun son here 33 cartages and don't forget to pick up some milk at 7/11"
"OK, kids theses days.".
Who does this?

Question for Jessica... is the photo attached to this article the actual person as encountered by the police, or is it just an example of the type of gear he was wearing? Can you subtitle it so there is no confusion

DC

You are absolutely right! Making a mockery out of this situation, as Malcolm is, shows his immaturity. A fake weapon can be easily mistaken for a real one.

I agree with DC- Malcolm is not only being insensitive to the heart broken families in CT, Malcolm is also being ignorant of the seriousness of this issue. It is the year 2012, it is no longer ok in todays society to be a teenage boy parading around the woods dressed in severe combat attire when unstable individuals are doing the same and shooting in movie theaters and schools. Malcolm, do yourself a favor and refrain from posting such insensitive comments for the public to read.

Sounds like Malcolm is a child, i'm guessing a tween, who is incapable of recognizing a dangerous situation. In this climate of high alert, there is no room for stupidity, especially a kid with a fake rifle walking to school. The police are still investigating but should not rule out suspension, at the very least. His parents need to get in his face and the school needs to get him some help.

What are going to charge him with?
Wearing camouflage is not illegal, fake wood gun is not illegal so ....
trespassing ?

Is this another one in the works?

wow its a kid we did it when we were young lets calm down the gun was fake and charges pending i guess they should stop selling gi joe toys

Ok you all are blowing this out of contex because of the shootings never happened this would not be an issue and for all you that want the kids name so you can have more to talk about because this entire town is like a big sarority house and just love the dram and you people must have no clue what the other side of the law is like and now after reading all of your comments I hope and pray that you or your children do something so stupid that it also get blown out of control and you have to sit on the other side of all the bs. I'm sure Malcolm is not a child he seems to be the most intelligent one out of all of you. And to comment on everything that has gone on I feel very bad for what has happened in CT but unfortunately like everything else in this good county there is never any action untill something happens and or till all of you complain enough and they only do something so you just shut up also you won't know the kids name from the police because its confidential because he's a Juvenal other then that have a wonderful holiday and god bless everyone

Your all stupid and your opinions are that of a lobotomie. The only intelligent one is Malcolm.

In light of recent events, how else was the situation supposed to be handled? All possible explanations need to be investigated... Without all the facts, I don't see how its possible to just dismiss the situation as "play". Mahwah would look mighty foolish if there is more to
the story. If it turns out that it was bad judgement on the child's part then someone needs to sit that 13 year old down and give him a wake up call as to the events that have occurred!

What are they going to charge him with? Here's an example of poor journalism: Ms. Mazzola didn't ask the police any questions. Just swallowed the press-release hook, line, and sinker.

It's a shame, a young man like that playing outside in the woods. He clearly should have been playing video games inside. I hope he gets expelled for playing in the woods and he should be institutionalized for life for it. BTW, Newton was an anomaly, it is not happening in "your" town, whatever your town is. Like 9/11 when every Podunk town wanted "protect themselves" from terrorists who have no interest in Peoria to being with!

The anger shown by Malcolm and his teen buddies is palpable, and makes me more afraid for the kids in Mahwah schools. I can only hope they know they boy in question, and are simply coming to the defense of a friend. Further, The Patch is a wonderful service to our community, a place to express civil opinions, and I don't think such rudeness should be tolerated.

I have a 10 yr old son who loves to play Cops, Army & Marines. Since he could talk that is all he has ever wanted to be. We teach him right from wrong, we do not allow him to play with real guns but it is a SAD day that he can not even play in own front yard anymore. When he wants to dress up and play combat or even play with his Nerf guns we now make him play in the backyard so no one will mistake for doing something Evil. The real evil in this world is making it a sad place for our children to grow up.

If you read the article, he was not in his front yard, he was in the woods on a busy street where 4 of the town's four schools are located. He was across the street from 2 strip malls and a condo complex. It was NOT his back-yard, front-yard, or the woods behind his house, unless he lives at Seiko. Further, who was he playing this "game" with? An army of one? If you decide to play "games" like this, stay on your own property!

And why wouldn't he tell the police who he was?

Ms. Mazzola: are the police still refusing to answer the questions you posed to them?

Still waiting for the intended follow-up.

Just checking in after another week. Any news?

Is there a way that these comments can be shown by order of date? Most recent at top?

Just wanted to make one thing clear. I am all for an investigation. Calls about anyone running around with a rifle withing city limits is worth checking into..

What I am against is the automatic labeling as a criminal when all the facts are not in. Police often bring people in and sometimes overstep and try to use trumped up charges to validate their actions. By now, the kid should have been arranged and charged with an offense and that info should be available.

Convictions come later, if there is a trial, maybe by now if there was a plea bargain.