A substitute teacher who allegedly made a threatening comment aimed at a senior during an in-class political discussion about President Trump at Hart High School on Monday was kicked off of school property and barred from ever teaching in the William S. Hart Union High School District, officials said.
A criminal complaint about the incident was filed with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. Although no arrest has been made, the complaint is now being reviewed, said Shirley Miller, spokeswoman for the SCV Sheriff’s Station.
Hart High School officials wasted no time responding to the alleged threat, according to district officials.
“Once administrators at Hart High School heard what happened, the substitute teacher was called to speak with the principal, and was then asked to leave the campus,” Dave Caldwell, a school district spokesman told The Signal Tuesday. “Steps were immediately taken to ensure that this teacher will never teach within the Hart District again.”
The substitute teacher, whose identity was not revealed, allegedly made a threatening comment about a gun after spotting a screen saver depicting President Donald Trump on a student’s computer.
“Her comments were, ‘You support school shootings.’ Really,” according to the student’s father, who posted his concerns about the incident on Facebook.
“She said, ‘If I had a gun and dropped, it would probably be pointed at you and go off,’” the father wrote on the post.
Parents of the senior were shocked to learn of the incident from their son.
“I was shocked, angry and obviously it scared the heck out of me,” the student’s mother told The Signal Tuesday.
“Especially on the heels of the shooting in Florida,” she said, referring the 17 people killed in a school shooting on Feb. 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
The Hart senior’s parents had nothing but praise for the manner with which the incident was handled.
A deputy with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station assigned to the school shared news of the incident with others at the station, questioning whether any sort of criminal investigation was warranted, Shirley Miller, spokeswoman for the SCV Sheriff’s Station said Tuesday.
“From my understanding this was a political discussion taking place when the teacher allegedly made a threatening comment,” Miller said.
News of Tuesday’s threat comes on the heels of a rash of threats reportedly made at schools and followed up by deputies last week.
Two Santa Clarita Valley boys accused of making criminal threats directed at their respective schools last week were released to custody of their parents, and were expected to appear in Sylmar Juvenile Court.
A 15-year-old was detained shortly after noon Thursday on suspicion he made criminal threats to “shoot up the school and students” at the Santa Clarita Valley International school.
Later in the day, deputies detained a 17-year-old boy for having allegedly posted threats on social media towards West Ranch High School.
In both cases, school officials called the SCV Sheriff’s Station immediately to report the threats.
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