|
Boca student's comments about
classmates spark probe, concern
Christina Denardo
Palm
Beach Post
Saturday April 21, 2007
BOCA RATON — A Spanish River High senior won't be returning
to school this year after making negative comments directed at his
classmates on Tuesday, school officials said.
Superintendent Art Johnson said the school's principal told him
the student pointed to classmates in a photo and made remarks such
as "I like this one" and "I don't like this one."
The remarks prompted a police investigation and an agreement between
the school and the student's family for the student not to return
to campus, Johnson said.
It is not clear why such comments triggered a police investigation
or prompted Principal Constance Tuman-Rugg to send an automated
voice message about the incident to the homes of Spanish River's
2,124 students. Tuman-Rugg did not return repeated calls on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, district officials said the 18-year-old senior
had made not just negative, but threatening, remarks against classmates.
But they would not specify the nature of the threats or to whom
they were directed.
A voice message to parents of Spanish River High students on Wednesday
also said that police had searched for a list, weapons or symbols
during their investigation, suggesting a serious threat was made.
In the voice message, Tuman-Rugg acknowledged the heightened security
concerns following this week's mass shooting at Virginia Tech University
and today's anniversary of the Columbine High School attack.
Though Johnson later Thursday downplayed the student's comments
and denied there were any threats, the principal promised additional
officers at school today.
District officials, who cited juvenile privacy laws, have refused
to release any police reports connected to the incident, though
the student is legally an adult.
Officials' refusal to release details of the incident have prompted
rumors and frustrated parents who suspect the school is trying to
cover up a serious problem.
Since the 1999 Columbine shootings in, schools nationwide have
taken a zero-tolerance approach to student threats, and in some
cases drawn criticism for criminalizing student misbehavior.
Kenneth Trump, a national school security expert, said school officials
"foil plots" on days leading up to the Columbine anniversary.
In St. Augustine on Thursday, a 14-year-old high school student
was arrested for making e-mail threats that he would top the Virginia
Tech massacre by killing 100 people. Officials found nothing in
his home he could use for an attack. Still, he was charged with
a second-degree felony for the threat.
INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
|
