Gay Ind. teen had stun gun to ward off school bullies, now he's suspended

(CBS) INDIANAPOLIS - A gay Indiana teen whose mother gave him a stun gun to defend himself against bullies is facing expulsion for bringing the weapon to school and reportedly firing it into the air.

According to CBS Cleveland, 17-year-old Darnell Young, who is openly gay at Arsenal Technical High School in Indianapolis, says he has been taunted and bullied for months.

"I do not promote violence - not at all - but what is a parent to do when she has done everything that she felt she was supposed to do ... at the school?" the boy's mother, Chelisa Grimes, told CNN. "I did feel like there was nothing else left for me to do, but protect my child."

The teen's mother told the Indianapolis Star that she gave him the stun gun because she thought the school didn't do enough to protect him.

Now Young faces expulsion after threatening students last month that were bullying him at school, CBS Cleveland reports.

According CNN, Young discharged the stun gun in the air after six fellow students surrounded him on April 16 and threatened to beat him up.

"I got kicked out of school for me bringing the weapon to school, but I honestly don't think that that was fair," Young told CNN. "I didn't use it on nobody ... all I did was raise it up in the air and went back to my class."

Arsenal Tech principal Larry Yarrell says that Young is a flamboyant dresser and that school staff had been trying to get him to "tone down" his accessories.

"If you wear female apparel, then kids are kids and they're going to say whatever it is that they want to say," Yarrell told CNN. "Because you want to be different and because you choose to wear female apparel, it may happen. In the idealistic society, it shouldn't matter. People should be able to wear what they want to wear."

CBS Cleveland reports that the decision on whether to expel Young is expected to be handed down in the coming days.