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Riverside elementary school principal sends community letter about student’s ‘kill list’

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Over the holiday weekend, parents received a letter from a Riverside elementary school principal letting them know that a fifth-grade student had shown his classmates a series of student names that was labeled “kill list.”

After the incident was reported Jan. 12, the school began an investigation, convened a site threat assessment team and notified law enforcement, according to the letter that Lake Mathews Elementary School Principal Pamela Williams sent Monday.

It was determined “that there was, and is, no danger to any of Lake Mathews’ students,” Williams said.

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“In accordance with state law and district policy, appropriate steps have been taken to both hold this student accountable for the creation and sharing of this list and ensure that procedures are in place for ongoing monitoring and support for any student who is involved in this kind of behavior,” Williams wrote.

While a Riverside Unified School District spokesperson said he could not comment on specific disciplinary action taken, the Press-Enterprise of Riverside reports that parents were told the student was suspended two days, Friday and Tuesday.

On Friday, a parent sent a petition to the superintendent with 86 signatures demanding the student’s expulsion, the Press-Enterprise reported.

The district has not begun any expulsion process, said Justin Grayson, the district spokesperson.

However, Williams wrote in her letter that other educational opportunities are being provided for the student involved.

“That’s referring to the options that are available should the parent decide to remove the student from the school or should the parent decide it’s not a safe or conducive learning environment for that student,” Grayson said. “It’s not a recommendation, we just want to make them feel comfortable and let them know there are other options. I don’t have word on whether they have taken advantage of that and made a change.”

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With any threat, the district undergoes a threat assessment protocol, which involves law enforcement, the principal, the student’s teachers and the school psychologist, said Tim Walker, assistant superintendent for pupil services.

It also includes an interview with the student involved and the student’s parents, Walker said.

“When a threat assessment is determined to be warranted and necessary, getting all of the appropriate people together and communicating with the local authorities for them to take certain steps they have a responsibility for can make a timeline vary greatly,” Walker said.

Grayson stressed that the threat assessment protocol is an extensive, comprehensive process.

“What we really hope is that our Riverside Unified School District community trusts our process, trusts the experts and individuals involved and the authorities involved,” Grayson said. “Trust that process — that what we’ve done has been comprehensive and thorough. When we do these investigations, it’s not just a simple Q&A. We do value safety as our top priority.”

brittny.mejia@latimes.com

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Twitter: @Brittny_Mejia

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