Normally, when we hear about school violence (think about how awful that phrase sounds for just a moment), we think of either students or an outside intruder with a gun, a vendetta, and severe psychological issues. We also think of teachers as being the last line of defense between a monster and the children they teach. And indeed, there are stories of teachers who have gone above and beyond the call of educators to keep their children safe. But what happens when the potential danger is not from a current or former disturbed student or deranged person from the community? What does it mean when the possible threat is from a teacher?
Parents of students at St. Stanislaus school and other members of the East Chicago, Ind., areas are wrestling with that issue after a teacher was arrested on Thursday for having a kill list that had the names of staff members and even students on it.
Fox News reports that Angelica Carrasquillo-Torres told a fifth-grader Wednesday that she had made plans to kill herself, along with fellow staff members and students. Carrasquillo-Torres told the student that he or she was at the bottom of the list. Once the student alerted school officials, Carrasquillo-Torres was taken to the principal’s office, where she admitted to the existence of the list and that the student’s name was on it but did not produce it. For reasons unknown and particularly vexing to parents, Carrasquillo-Torres was told to leave campus and told not to return, and police were called four hours later. Carrasquillo-Torres was arrested the next day. Aside from the unexplained time lapse between the incident and the call to the police, parents were understandably furious that they were not made fully aware of the scope of the incident. One parent said that they only received an email that an “issue” had occurred in a classroom.
The Post Millennial found a message to parents on the school’s Facebook page that read in part:
It is with great sadness that we share the following statement.
On Wednesday, October 12, at approximately 12:45 p.m., the staff at St. Stanislaus School responded to a concerning report from a student regarding comments made by the student’s teacher. The teacher was removed from the classroom and escorted to the principal’s office, where she remained under supervision and had no further contact with students. The teacher was interviewed to further identify the details of the incident.
After students were safely dismissed at the end of the school day, the teacher was escorted off campus and the East Chicago police department was notified at approximately 4:45 p.m. When asked, the police assured the principal that the facility was safe and that they could proceed normally with all scheduled learning and school events for the next school day.
An investigation is underway.
On the pages of PJ Media and other sites, you can find stories of teachers pushing an LGBTQ, etc., agenda, a CRT agenda, or a socialist agenda. But a teacher with a hit list? This may be the first time such a thing has made the news. We understand that the world can be a nasty place and that schools need to be vigilant, and as a grandparent, I appreciate that. And it is entirely possible that, like many imbalanced people, Carrasquillo-Torres was able to fly under the radar until the signs of a potential disaster became evident. Unfortunately, the sign in question was a child learning that he or she was on the teacher’s “kill” list.
Schools need to be vigilant when it comes to external threats, and the “system” need to be on the lookout for those people who may have the capacity for violence. But what needs to happen when the threat comes from the person whose job it is to protect the innocent? And what will be done to prevent another situation like this or one that goes one or more steps further from occurring in the future?
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