CELINA, Ohio (AP) – Military veterans and students are upset over the suspension of a middle school student in Ohio whose class project creating a memorial to veterans included a toy gun.

About two dozen people in Celina in northwest Ohio protested the suspension.

The Daily Standard reports eighth-grader Tyler Carlin made a replica of a battlefield cross that included a toy gun painted black.

An attorney for the boy says his teacher gave him permission to bring the project to school.

But the attorney says Tyler was sent to the principal’s office when he carried the memorial into school and suspended for bringing something resembling a dangerous weapon to school.

School officials have declined to comment on the suspension, saying they would need permission from the boy’s family.