A Superior Court judge threw out a case against two 8-year-old boys charged with making a dangerous threat by pointing a paper gun at classmates.
"This should never have landed in the courts. They were just two 8-year-old kids being 8-year-old kids," said Gerald Kelly, the attorney who represented one of the boys.
The incident occurred March 15 at the Augusta Street School in Irvington, which has a "zero-tolerance" policy regarding violence.
Essex County Judge Peter Ryan dismissed the charges on the recommendation of prosecutors after they were satisfied that the boys were only playing.