Hit list in High School - what do you make of this?

If it was the school my kids attended (I don't have kids) I wouldn't leave it up to the principal to handle. I'd be personally contacting the school board, the police department and the mayor's office requesting they investigate the validity of it being "just a rumor."

I can see - I just heard about it a bit ago and was deciding whether to email and ask about this - the school in the past has been so pro-active in letting us know before even our kids know about something. I think that is why it brought a question this time - and that I somewhat personally know the principal's family.

Is this the school? If so, it looks like they've done the investigating and it is indeed a copy cat rumor.


http://m.mankatofreepress.com/MFP/db_264901/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=0vpLDIOl


Mankato Free Press

LSH insisting 'hit list' was not a threat By Amanda Dyslin 05/02/2014 3:47 PM
LE SUEUR — Administration of Le Sueur Henderson Middle/High School and district were working hard Friday to try and stay ahead of rumors surrounding a student-created "hit list" that included peers.

“Upon investigation with law enforcement, we determined this was not a viable threat and the family and law enforcement have been working together,” said Principal Kevin Enerson.

A student wrote a list of names on a tablet that had been circulating in the school for a week, and many students were aware of it and didn't take it seriously, Enerson said. He wouldn't confirm the grade of the boy who made the list but said mostly the ninth grade was involved. He declined to elaborate on the nature of the list, which some parents are calling a "hit list."

When a girl learned her name was on the list, she contacted a counselor Wednesday night. Immediately the school investigated the situation and followed the threat-assessment and disciplinary-policy protocol, Enerson said.

Parents, who declined to comment on the record, said the student was suspended, but Enerson couldn't confirm what action was taken. The parents also said some parents kept their students home from school Friday out of fear.

Enerson said rumors spread quickly Thursday about the list. The national news the past couple of days about the foiled plot in Waseca of a boy planning to kill his family and fellow classmates may have contributed to a heightened level of concern, Enerson said.

“That was a very real threat,” he said. “Ours was not. … Nobody is in danger. Nobody's safety is at risk.”

At the same time, Enerson emphasized the school and district are not taking the situation lightly, nor are they diminishing the list by calling it a prank.

“This isn't funny stuff,” he said. “... I'm not dismissing that people are concerned. … I just want everybody to know … I know he isn't going to hurt anybody. He's not going to do anything. Everybody is safe.”

The district contacted parents and released a press release Friday that said specific details about the student and incident can't be made public due to data privacy laws.

“Unfortunately, this has led to a number of untrue rumors and misinformation about the safety of students and staff at our schools. Please know that everyone in all of our schools are safe and that no one is in danger,” the news release states.

The district statement also emphasized the importance of reporting to authorities “things that do not seem right.”

“We are then able to investigate and determine if a danger exists,” the release states.

nope not the school at all makes it all the more alarming that this is.

I also wonder how common this actually is - according to my daughter her spanish teacher thought it was a rumor - I will have to see if I still have the principal's personal email - from when my daughter was on the travel basketballl team with this girl.

Don't you find it scary that you could find a similar story?

Why are so many kids mad? Why are so many adults mad? Why are individuals acting out today and not repressing their emotions?

What about the guy who hit Brad Pit in the head, because he wanted to?

Why are there so many rapes around BU, Tufts, and Harvard?

Lastly why do crazy females insist on running along the Charles River at 2 am in the morning and then wonder why some weird guy goes and attacks/rapes them?

Do you know what Harvard yard looks like at 10 PM at night? Does anyone know if the campus police guard the yard at night?

The next question is how many Russians were actually involved in the bombing??

So over the weekend we did get an email - this rumor was reported to the local police, they did interview students that had talked about the rumor and/or were on this supposed hit list. From what they can tell it is only a rumor - no one actually saw a hit list and no one actually heard a child say they had a hit list.

They are still looking into it but from all interviews with students it appears it is a rumor that went viral in a sense.

Yikes. An uncomfortable situation Linkat.

Are you feeling better?

Yeah I am feeling better - it is so plausible though how rumors start and tend to get out of hand.

The good thing is -- I do respect this prinipal and feel he has a good head on his sholders - he seems to have the right balance - meaning he realizes kids are kids, but also seems to value safety. And he seems to have the pulse on things. It also helps that his daughter is in the school too - so he has a vested parent interest as well.

That is good news that they are on top of it and responsive rather than assuming it is purely rumor.

And this gives parents an opportunity to remind kids both about rumors and also how to address something like this is they overhear or see a hit list, etc.