GROVES — Groves Police are investigating several reported cases of bullying, one of which involved the display of a handgun.

Groves City Marshal Norman Reynolds Jr. said there have been several reported incidents of older kids harassing younger children.

“It’s been an ongoing problem, this group of kids are a little older than the other kid and his friends,” Reynolds said.

During the first incidents there were about three older kids harassing the younger group and another incident where about seven older kids harassed the same group of younger kids, he said.

“The mom intervened and they got ugly with her, used profanity towards her and during this time one of them displayed a handgun that was in his waist band.”

The older teen reportedly did not point the gun or pull the gun out but moved his shirt up to show the gun in his waist band. Police do not know if the gun is real or not but this does not matter, he added.

The incident with the reported gun occurred Tuesday in the 3000 block of Ash.

Reynolds said generally, “kids involved in such incidents are necessarily bad kids but are kids engaging in bad behavior.”

GPD is patrolling more the area more and is encouraging anyone who saw or sees similar incidents as this to call police. The bullying incidents remain under investigation.

“This was reported a couple of different times and it’s important for the parents of the child being bullying to contact the police or school,” Reynolds said. “Don’t be afraid to get us or the school involved, especially if there is a threat of violence.”

For more information on bullying laws in Texas, log on to www.bullypolice.org

E-mail: mary.meaux@panews.com

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