COLLINSVILLE, Ill. – An Illinois preschool crushed a 4-year-old’s love for learning this week when administrators suspended the boy for a week for bringing a spent shell casing to school to show his friends.

“He’s cried about it and he doesn’t understand why his school hates him, he said,” the boy’s mother, Kristy Jackson, told KTVI. “I’m not sure how a 7-day suspension teaches my son anything about tolerance or anything about why he was wrong.

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“It just means his school doesn’t want him there because of the things he enjoys.”

Jackson explained that her son, Hunter, went with his grandfather – a Caseyville police officer – to learn about gun safety over the weekend and picked up a spent .22 shell casing and smuggled it to A Place 2 Grow preschool in Troy, Illinois to show his friends this week, Fox News reports.

“He was just wandering around in a field and picked it up and put it in his pocket and didn’t tell his parents,” Jackson said.

“It’s paranoia,” she said. “And it’s something that’s become quite an epidemic where guns are automatically assumed that they’re bad.”

Jackson explained exactly how the situation unfolded in a Facebook post Monday that’s now been shared more than 3,000 times.

“I never thought this could happen to us. You see stuff on the news like this, but …,” Jackson posted.

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“Today, I picked up my happy little 4 yr old from preschool, at A Place to Grow, in Troy. My arrival was met with a stone faced teacher, who told me that Hunter brought a ‘shotgun bullet’ to school. I was horrified. My kid? Who just spend the weekend learning gun safety?

“Well … when I was escorted to the office for a sit down I was handed a tiny .22 empty brass casing. Not a ‘shotgun bullet.’ He found it on the ground, expelled from a .22 rifle over the weekend, while Hunter was target practicing with his police officer grandpa. He was so excited, and snuck it to school to show his friends. We had no idea about it.

“I was handed a piece of paper. No words, just eyebrows raised in disgust at my son, explaining that his behavior warranted a 7 school day suspension. Which I still was expected to pay tuition for, of course. And a threat that if his enthusiasm for guns continued, he’d be permanently expelled,” Jackson continued.

Jackson explained in the post that her son never threatened anyone, and has no access to weapons at home. No one at the school explained to Hunter why the shell casing was in issue, she said.

“He’s 4. This doesn’t hurt him, or teach him, or help him,” Jackson posted. “Just his parents who do not condone bringing these kinds of things to school. Ever. Had we known, we of course would have stopped it. But every time he or another child mentions a gun (like every boy I grew up with did) they punish him.”

Officials at A Place 2 Grow refused to speak with KTVI about the incident, other than to allege school officials were following “policy.”

“On Tuesday, March 21, 2017, Hunter was seen showing his fellow classmates a bullet casing that he brought to school from home. He had the casing in his pocket. The casing was removed from the classroom by his teachers and taken to the office. Hunter has been told that guns, hunting, etc. are not subjects that are to be discussed at school,” the suspension letter read.

“He has been redirected to other activities when he has chosen to make guns out of other toys. Hunter’s teachers have made multiple attempts to redirect these behaviors, however we believe that other actions need to be taken to correct these behaviors.”

The letter referenced a conversation school officials had with Jackson the day before the bullet casing incident about the boy’s penchant for playing guns.

“If after returning to school, these issues continue to be present or new issues arise, Hunter will be expelled from A Place 2 Grow effective immediately,” school director Mallory Lengermann wrote.

The school’s vice president also emailed Jackson to notify her that school officials contacted the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services about the incident.

Jackson told KTVI she’s not sure if her son will be returning to A Place 2 Grow.