Michael Winter, USA TODAY

Student%2C 16%2C faces felony charges after ad hoc experiment

Police say cleaner and aluminum foil were mixed in a water bottle

The chemical reaction caused a firecracker-like %22pop%22 and some smoke

Bad choice by a teenager or bad choice by adults?

That's the division over the case of Kiera Wilmot, 16, of Bartow, Fla., who has been expelled and is facing felony charges for her scientific curiosity on school property 10 days ago.

The April 22 incident — a week after the Boston Marathon bombings — ignited a debate on social media this week about whether a teen deserved harsh punishment for an ad hoc experiment that caused a small chemical explosion but no harm, or whether the school district and law enforcement authorities had overreacted.

The incident happened about 7 a.m. on the grounds of Bartow High School, just before classes began. Based on information from a friend, Wilmot conducted what she called "a science fair experiment," which involved mixing toilet bowl cleaner and aluminum foil in a small plastic water bottle, according to police.

The chemical reaction caused a firecracker-like "pop" and some smoke, which the principal heard and saw. It caused no damage or injury to Wilmot, who said that she "thought it would just cause some smoke" and was not trying to hurt anyone or disrupt school, the police report said.

After school officials determined her science teacher did not know about her experiment, the police were called and they charged her with possession and discharge of a weapon on school grounds and with discharging a destructive device.

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

"She is a good kid," he added. "She has never been in trouble before. Ever."

"She told us everything and was very honest," Pritchard told WTSP, which is owned by Gannett, USA TODAY's parent company. "She didn't run or try to hide the truth. We had a long conversation with her."

The station, which ran a brief item April 23 about Wilmot's arrest, misreported that the incident happened Monday.

Here's what Pricthard toldThe (Lakeland) Leger on April 22 (also a Monday):

"It was next to the gazebo by the lake. 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."

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

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

Nevertheless, the school district decided that its rules dictated the harsh response.

"Unfortunately, what she did falls into our code of conduct," Leah Lauderdale, a district spokeswoman told the Miami New Times. "It's grounds for immediate expulsion."

To wit:

More specifically, Wilmot's mini-explosion — which came after she mixed "common household chemicals" in a plastic bottle — violates Section 7.05 of the school's conduct code, Lauderdale says, which mandates expulsion for any "student in possession of a bomb (or) explosive device... while at a school (or) a school-sponsored activity... unless the material or device is being used as part of a legitimate school-related activity or science project conducted under the supervision of an instructor."

Polk County Schools released this statement:

Anytime a student makes a bad choice it is disappointing to us. Unfortunately, the incident that occurred at Bartow High School yesterday was a serious breach of conduct. In order to maintain a safe and orderly learning environment, we simply must uphold our code of conduct rules. We urge our parents to join us in conveying the message that there are consequences to actions. We will not compromise the safety and security of our students and staff.

WTSP said that when a news crew approached the Wilmots' front door, a teenage girl shouted from inside, "You've blown everything out of proportion!"

Wilmot has a twin sister who also attends Bartow High.

The family declined an offer to make a statement.

"This is totally insane," Kathleen Nolan, a lecturer in teacher preparation at Princeton University and author of Police in the Hallways: Discipline in an Urban High School told the London Guardian.

"This young woman faces expulsion, felony charges and a criminal record because of what appears to be misguided curiosity. These zero-tolerance laws have put into place a mindlessness where individuals no longer think through these kind of situations and use their discretion."

Here are some of the comments the Miami New Times received:

charlesmims:

I think there should be consequences to the administration overreacting with total disregard for the otherwise bright future of this student. This is the kind of curiosity and intelligence that should be molded and nurtured, not cut off at the root. Shame on this school.

jamesfuzion:

What a complete joke this is. When I was in high school 10 years, we were learning about the table of elements and the teacher let us burn a small strip of magnesium with our safety goggles on. I guess in this day and age, this would be considered lighting up a "bomb." I guess the terrorist have accomplished their mission.

tgoyer:

Are you kidding? In my science class, our teacher actually showed us the recipe for making a pipe bomb out of a handful of rusty nails, a pop can and a magnesium fuse. None of us went on to a life of crime.

These zero tolerance laws have gone over the cliff and taken our kids with them.

lulurushmore:

Once again, this was not an instance of scientific inquiry or curiosity. "Playing around" is not the same as curiosity I used the phrase to suggest that she did not have malicious intentions. Bottom line, school campuses need to be explosive free--not an unreasonable expectation.

YuChan:

There's a part of me that thinks "Yeah, this was dangerous, people could have been hurt, it could have been worse. She did need to be punished to know to not do this again." But there's also a part of that thinks that if she had a trustworthy science teacher to go to ask about this, maybe she wouldn't have done it. If she had an outlet for her curiosity, maybe she wouldn't have done it. If she had no previous record of being destructive, having bad grades, or even behavioral issues, an expulsion and federal charges aren't necessary. And I hate to say it, but the race and country factor would be coming into play to. Public school systems in this country encourage ignorance, put extracurricular on the chopping block everyday. I wonder whether or not this was a "science experiment". But I also wonder what would compel her to do this.

orrusti:

Oh lawdy, heavens forbid we let a kid test out a bottle rocket!

Next we'll be saying it's illegal to stick mentos in coke. I'm starting to get why the older generations keep going on about how the younger folks have it so bad. The education systems (or possibly the higher ups from that) are babying the students, childproofing everything to such an extent that kids get told off for tiny, genuine accidents. It'll get to the point where young folk will have never experienced the humiliation and perhaps pain of doing something stupid, a lesson that teaches them not to DO stupid things, or at least do them in safe conditions. ...

Assistant state prosecutor Tammy Glotfelty, of the Polk County Office of the State Attorney, directed police to charge Wilmot. Her office had no comment earlier Thursday, telling the Guardian the case is under investigation.

Some commenters accused Glotfelty of a double standard, noting that three days after Wilmot was charged she declined to prosecute a 13-year-old boy who killed his 10-year-old brother with a BB gun. She said "it is our opinion that this case can only be seen as a tragic accident."