BOY CLEARED BY MENTAL HEALTH OFFICIALS TO RETURN TO SCHOOL
Last week, two students at Horace O'Bryant Middle School reported to a teacher that they had seen another student's "kill list"— a list of six or seven students and teachers with the words "Kill List" scrawled at the top. The students said the boy had even written some dates beside the names.
HOB Principal Frank Spoto told KWTN Wednesday that he has investigated the incident fully and that the boy who had the list was sent home and would remain out of school pending the results of a mental health evaluation. He said Thursday morning that the boy had been cleared by mental health officials to return to school and could return this week.
On Wednesday, two parents of HOB students called KWTN, concerned that the action taken had not been strong enough. "They didn't even file a police report," said one of the mothers. "I was concerned enough that I kept my son out of school Monday."
Spoto said that the incident has been handled and that there is no cause for concern.
"The kids who saw the list on Thursday reported it on Friday," Spoto said. "As soon as I heard about it, I pulled the boy out of class and questioned him about it. He admitted that he had written down a list— but he said that he had no intention of hurting anyone. He did say, however, that some of the students on the list had been picking on him"
Spoto said that when he asked to see the list, the boy told him that he had thrown it away at home.
One of the fathers who called KWTN alleged that the list had been "lost".
"That's not the case," Spoto said. "We never had the list."
Spoto said that a background check on the boy revealed that he had never been in trouble. "There is no reason for us to believe that he would ever do anything violent," he said. "But we did not take this potential threat lightly," he emphasized.
"I notified the police resource officer, but we felt that this was a mental health issue, not a criminal issue. We have a counselor here with a mental health background and I asked him to interview the boy.
"And I called his father— who has been very cooperative. And I called all the parents of any of the students who may have been on the list."
"I just want to know that my son is safe at HOB," said a parent who called KWTN. "I heard that they are afraid to take any action against the boy because the father has threatened to sue."
Spoto denied that report.
He said that mental health officials have recommended that the boy return to school as soon as possible.
"I am assuming that he will be here today or tomorrow," Spoto said Thursday.