SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In a troubling week for schools around the Sacramento area, Lincoln High School went on lockdown Thursday for several hours, while two students at Laguna Creek High School in Elk Grove were cited Wednesday with misdemeanors for allegedly posting threats on Instagram Monday.
The barrage of anonymous online threats and fighting spilling out into the hallways has put many students, parents and teachers on edge.
"I had a panic attack," said Lincoln High School parent Ryan Helbig Thursday, who said she was notified about the lockdown by her child. "You never want to hear this; you never want this phone call from your kid," she said.
South Sacramento Christian Center on Thursday hosted a healing circle, bringing together the Black Student Union, members of the Black Child Legacy Campaign, parents, students and other organizations.
"My mindset is, I just don't want to go to school because if I know I'm being threatened, I don't want to be around the area," said Laguna Creek High School Senior Tytus Grant, who didn't attend school on Monday because of the online threats.
"Parents and students are absolutely afraid," said Black Student Union Advisor Kishaun Thorntona, who joined the healing circle Thursday.
Thorntona said students returning to the in-school environment after COVID have experienced trauma.
"Particularly, African-American students have been traumatized literally for years, and the pandemic did not help at all," she said.
Jerome Chapel, a crisis intervention worker, said students don't want to go to school when they feel it isn't safe. Chapel and Thorntona said they supported the decision to charge two Laguna Creek students with misdemeanor's for the threats, but said parents can also play a larger role.
"Form a relationship with each other, so when they see another kid not doing what he or she should be doing, make sure they contact that parent and ask them, ‘Do you know what your child is doing?’" Chapel said.
As for Grant, the high school senior, he says the threats and fights are all a distraction for students at a critical time.
"Especially since we’ve got finals week coming up. It’s like, no," Grant said. "Because people are there to study, and figure out what they need to do to pass their classes."
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