12-year-old in cuffs for pointing finger

A 12-year-old girl who pointed her fingers in the shape of a gun at school classmates was handcuffed and arrested.

The Kansas City Star reported the student at Westridge Middle School in Overland Park, Kansas, pointed at four classmates, one at a time, and then turned the pretend weapon toward herself.

School officials couldn't comment on the Sept. 18 incident because of privacy laws but said the district wouldn't arrest anyone.

That responsibility lies with the school resource officer, an employee of the Overland Park police agency, the report said.

The department also declined to discuss the case.

Documents from Johnson County district court explained the girl allegedly "unlawfully and feloniously communicated a threat to commit violence, with the intent to place another, in fear, or with the intent to cause the evacuation, lock down or disruption in regular, ongoing activities."

The Star reported a person familiar with a more detailed incident who spoke on condition of anonymity said that during a class discussion, another student asked the girl, if she could kill five people in the class, who would they be?

In response, the girl allegedly pointed her finger like a pistol.

She was sent to Principal Jeremy McDonnell's office, and the school's police officer suggested she be arrested, according to the source.

A hearing is set in Johnson County's juvenile court for Tuesday.

The girl now is living in California with her grandfather, who said his granddaughter had no access to a gun and no intent to harm anyway.

"She was just mouthing off," he said.

The arrest is part of the "zero-tolerance" concept implemented in public schools across the nation. The report noted that four years ago in Colorado, a first-grader was suspended for forming his fingers into the shape of a gun and pointing it at a classmate.

A similar incident took place in Columbus, Ohio, the year before.

Police told NBC News threats in schools "are taken very seriously and treated appropriately."