Mom Outraged Over Boy's Toy Slingshot Arrest (Video included)
Cottle faces second-degree felony charges of shooting or throwing a deadly missile in connection with the incident.
However, the boy's mother, Pamela Cottle, said "it was just kids being kids," the report said.
"Cottle's mother said it is ridiculous that the little red plastic pellet could be deadly," Local 6's Jessica D'Onofrio said.
"I'm not saying throw this out, but don't get carried away with it," Cottle said. "It has been so blown out of proportion."
The Lake County Sheriff's Office said the boy's actions were criminal.
The middle school student was charged with shooting or throwing a deadly missile and the sheriff's office is standing behind the charge, the report said.
"In this case, this child shot a pellet at another student that caused a welt on the skin," Lake County sheriff's office Sgt. Christie Mysinger said.
According to the sheriff's office, the deputy, the deputy's supervisor and a representative from the state attorney's office all reviewed the state's statutes.
"They felt as a group, that this charge was the appropriate charge," Mysinger said.
The 11-year-old was transported to the Department of Juvenile Justice in Ocala, Fla.
"To see him in handcuffs, shackles around his ankles and (with) a chain around his waist, it was everything I could do to maintain myself," Cottle said.
Tuesday afternoon, a judge released Cottle to his parents on home confinement.
"A lot of people are saying there appears to be some back-peddling by the state attorney's office," Local 6's Jacqueline London said.
"The attorney for the family was contacted by the state attorney's office and despite what you heard in the interview, they said they did not offer legal advice to the Lake County Sheriff's Office," Local 6's Louis Bolden said. "And they also said they didn't see any evidence from the case but simply going on what the sheriff's office told them."
Cottle is due in court on March 1.