Parents notified about student ‘kill list’

Riverside elementary school says there was ‘no danger’ but punishes fifth-grader.

Over the holiday weekend, parents received a letter from a Riverside elementary school principal letting them know that a fifthgrader had shown 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.

“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.

Although a Riverside Unified School District spokesman said he could not comment on specific disciplinary action taken, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reported 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 paper reported.

The district has not begun any expulsion process, said Justin Grayson, the district spokesman. However, Williams wrote in her letter that other educational opportunities were 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.”