Skip to content

Biting the hand that feeds IT

The Register ®

Odds and Sods:


Related Whitepapers

[Print][Mobile][Alerts]

US teen cuffed for disposable camera 'Taser'

Felony charges over 'homemade weapon' shocker

Published Friday 4th April 2008 09:27 GMT

A 14-year-old Connecticut student was on Wednesday charged with "possession of a weapon at school, breach of peace and attempted assault" after turning up at his Clinton classroom with a "homemade weapon" fashioned from a disposable camera.

According to Connecticut's WFSB, the Morgan High School student had opened up said camera with intention of "playfully" demonstrating on a friend that it could deliver a shock - something he'd apparently learnt on the internet.

No fellow student was actually photo-tasered, but NBC30.com reports that "the school official who confiscated it was zapped when he tried to take it away".

The boy's father, Bret Haughwout, said his son "hadn't modified the camera in any way, that he had just opened it up". He added: "All he did was bring a disposable camera, take it apart, demonstrate that if you press this button you get shocked."

Haughwout is none too pleased that his boy now faces felony charges over the incident, and insisted that the device doesn't even "meet the definition of a dangerous instrument, which is the next step down from a weapon."

Clinton police Sgt. Jeremiah Dunn disagreed, explaining: "It is considered a weapon, yes; an electronic demobilizing device is considered a dangerous weapon."

The unnamed teen was suspended for 10 days following his arrest, but remains in school pending an appeal. ®

Track this type of story as a custom Atom/RSS feed or by email.
Previous Article Next Article
whitepaper title

How IT Management Can "Green" the Data Center

This Gartner research provides managers with an outline of the trends affecting datacenters and offers strategies with which to address these changes..
whitepaper title

Gartner Paper: US Data Centers

U.S. enterprise data centers face considerable space and energy constraints over the next few years. Download this free independent report to read more..
Whitepapers

Top 20 storiesAll The Week’s HeadlinesArchiveSearch