Florida Teen Girl Charged With Felony After Science Experiment Goes Bad

[Carol]

link

LOL They are more outraged than when a 7 or 8 year old gets suspended for chewing a piece if toast into a shape that resembles a gun or a teen to wearing an NRA t shirt.

They are all for zero tolerance until they are not.

Star Member The Straight Story (41,185 posts)

Florida Teen Girl Charged With Felony After Science Experiment Goes Bad
Florida Teen Girl Charged With Felony After Science Experiment Goes Bad

Kiera Wilmot got good grades and had a perfect behavior record. She wasn't the kind of kid you'd expect to find hauled away in handcuffs and expelled from school, but that's exactly what happened after an attempt at a science project went horribly wrong.

On 7 a.m. on Monday, the 16 year-old mixed some common household chemicals in a small 8 oz water bottle on the ground of Bartow High School in Barton, Florida. The reaction caused a small explosion that caused the top to pop up and produced some smoke. No one was hurt and no damage was caused.

According to WTSP, Wilmot told police that she was merely conducting a science experiment. Though her teachers knew nothing of the specific project, her principal seems to agree.

"She made a bad choice. Honestly, I don't think she meant to ever hurt anyone," principal Ron Pritchard told the station. "She wanted to see what would happen and was shocked by what it did. Her mother is shocked, too."

After the explosion Wilmot was taken into custody by a school resources officer and charged with possession/discharge of a weapon on school grounds and discharging a destructive device. She will be tried as an adult.

http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/ripti...arged_with.php

skip fox (11,883 posts)
27. damn!

Do we know their party affiliation?

Could be Democratic, but I'm guessing otherwise.

Star Member Arctic Dave (12,327 posts)
3. Why did I know this young lady was going to be a minority.

Exhibit 100,037 in ways to disenfranchise and lock up minorities in America.

Star Member rurallib (30,919 posts)
30. oddly - first thing that popped into my mind also.

Star Member barbtries (14,962 posts)
51. it took me a minute, but yeah.

motherfucking racist FUCKS.

sharp_stick (9,042 posts)
6. Once again it's fucking Florida

So often this idiotic shit seems to happen in Florida. Is there something in the water down there that takes away the ability to think critically?

A felony charge for a high school student that didn't hurt or even intend to hurt anyone or cause damage.

Dr. Strange (21,455 posts)
19. Um...

She was then taken to a juvenile assessment center. She was also expelled from school and will be forced to complete her diploma through an explosion program.


An explosion program? Isn't that what caused the problem in the first place?

Star Member nolabear (14,392 posts)
56. Probably meant "expulsion". But, you know, the education system is busy doing dumb things like this.

Teaching spelling would be so, so, ordinary.

Star Member lpbk2713 (23,161 posts)
35. All this nonsense will make her miss final exams, book reports and other work.

At the very least, the result of all this will be her failing the school year.
This is so stupid it's unbelievable. Her teachers should share some of
the blame for not knowing what she was doing.

heaven05 (2,196 posts)
39. ???

amurikkkan justice at it's best.(sarcasm) amurikans have become exceedingly stupid. How do I know? Bachman, king, cruz, snyder romshits 47% ect ect ect got the votes from .....

[NJCardFan]

heaven05 (2,196 posts)
39. ???

amurikkkan justice at it's best.(sarcasm) amurikans have become exceedingly stupid. How do I know? Bachman, king, cruz, snyder romshits 47% ect ect ect got the votes from .....

Yeah like the kids who were expelled for supposedly making a gun out of a pop tart, carrying a concealed Hello Kitty bubble gun, or using 2 fingers like a gun, etc. See, the kind of reaction is only when the victim is a perceived Democrat. Liberals need to be done away with. Send them to the Grand Canyon or somewhere so the adults can get back to running things.

[noonwitch]

I only made it through one semester of high school chemistry, but I clearly remember one of the early lessons being about reading the labels on all cleaning products before mixing any of them to ensure that you are not mixing chlorine and ammonia.

Shortly afterwards, the idiot bus boy at work did it, and whereas it didn't explode, it did create chlorine gas. If only the bus boy had taken chemistry....

[Odysseus]

The DUmpsters are, of course, outraged, not by the act, but by the race of the actor. If she had been a white male, they'd have been gleefully writing about his Tea Party credentials.

Here's another article, with a bit more information:

BARTOW HIGH
Police: Girl Had Explosive Materials at Bartow High School
By Suzie Schottelkotte
THE LEDGER

Published: Tuesday, April 23, 2013 at 12:20 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, April 23, 2013 at 12:20 a.m.
BARTOW | A 16-year-old Bartow High School student was arrested Monday on allegations she detonated a bottle of explosive materials on the school grounds.

No one was hurt in the morning explosion, nor was school property damaged, said Principal Ron Pritchard.

Kiera Roslyn Wilmot, of 1370 N. Wilson Ave., Apt. 505, was charged with making, possessing or discharging a destructive device and with possessing or discharging weapons on school grounds. Both charges are felonies.

The girl told authorities she was conducting a science experiment, according to Bartow police, but science teachers at the school said they knew nothing about it. She also said she thought the materials would produce only smoke, not an explosion, police said.

Pritchard said he was standing nearby when the student left the drink bottle behind the cafeteria, near the lake on the school's east side.

"It was next to the gazebo by the lake," he said. "I wasn't standing too far away when it happened. I just heard the pop, and I turned around. I thought it was a firecracker at first."

Household materials were used to create the explosion, said Bartow police Lt. Gary McLin. He declined to say what those materials were, but said the information is available through the Internet.

Pritchard said the girl didn't leave the area after the bottle exploded.

"She left it on the ground, and she stayed there," he said. "We went over to where she was. She saw that we saw her, so she didn't take off."

He said she was taken to the school's office, where police took her into custody.

The explosion occurred about 7 a.m., about the time classes started.

"There weren't a lot of kids there," Pritchard said. "There were maybe half a dozen kids in the area where she was, and nobody was hurt by it."

Wilmot was transported to the county's Juvenile Assessment Center in Bartow following her arrest.

Police: Girl Had Explosive Materials at Bartow High School
By SUZIE SCHOTTELKOTTE
TheLedger.com April 23, 2013 12:20 AM

BARTOW | A 16-year-old Bartow High School student was arrested Monday on allegations she detonated a bottle of explosive materials on the school grounds

No one was hurt in the morning explosion, nor was school property damaged, said Principal Ron Pritchard.</p><p>Kiera Roslyn Wilmot, of 1370 N. Wilson Ave., Apt. 505, was charged with making, possessing or discharging a destructive device and with possessing or discharging weapons on school grounds. Both charges are felonies.

The girl told authorities she was conducting a science experiment, according to Bartow police, but science teachers at the school said they knew nothing about it. She also said she thought the materials would produce only smoke, not an explosion, police said.

Pritchard said he was standing nearby when the student left the drink bottle behind the cafeteria, near the lake on the school's east side.</p><p>"It was next to the gazebo by the lake," he said. "I wasn't standing too far away when it happened. I just heard the pop, and I turned around. I thought it was a firecracker at first."

Household materials were used to create the explosion, said Bartow police Lt. Gary McLin. He declined to say what those materials were, but said the information is available through the Internet.

Pritchard said the girl didn't leave the area after the bottle exploded.

"She left it on the ground, and she stayed there," he said. "We went over to where she was. She saw that we saw her, so she didn't take off."</p><p>He said she was taken to the school's office, where police took her into custody.

The explosion occurred about 7 a.m., about the time classes started.

"There weren't a lot of kids there," Pritchard said. "There were maybe half a dozen kids in the area where she was, and nobody was hurt by it."

Wilmot was transported to the county's Juvenile Assessment Center in Bartow following her arrest.

Copyright 2013 TheLedger.com - All rights reserved. Restricted use only.
This story appeared in print on page B1
http://www.theledger.com/article/201...ow-High-School

All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.

It sounds like she was trying to create a smoke bomb, rather than an explosive, and made the mistake of sealing the container, which popped from the pressure. More of a prank than a terrorist attack, although given the current climate, it's not the smartest move that she could have made. Now, if she was enrolled at the Islamic Saudi Academy in Fairfax, VA, she would have learned the basics of explosives and demolitions and gotten extra credit, but Florida isn't Virginia, and they don't seem to take the same attitude towards youthful jihadi hijinks. When I was in school, this would have resulted in a suspension at the least, or possibly an expulsion, but no criminal charges unless someone was injured, but when I was in school, Islamic terrorists weren't blowing up everything in sight, either. Still, felony charges seem like overkill. Eventually, calmer heads ought to prevail and she will probably end up with misdemeanor charges, which will be expunged from her juvenile record, but the expulsion will probably stand.

[NJCardFan]

Um, leaving it where people gather for lunch is not a science experiment but an attempt at a form of terrorism. Had it been in a classroom setting in the lab then maybe but this, no.

[Elspeth]

Um, leaving it where people gather for lunch is not a science experiment but an attempt at a form of terrorism. Had it been in a classroom setting in the lab then maybe but this, no.

I wouldn't go that far. I don't think she had any intention of terrorizing anyone. She may have simply been curious. And it could be that the science classroom was locked or that she expected smoke (as she said in the article above) and opted for outdoors as being safer.

We really don't know her motivations yet, and I do think the school--once again--overreacted here.