NORTHGLENN, Colo. — At the STEM Lab School in Northglenn, Jessica Strobel said a group of seventh grade girls made a list of students they wanted to kill.
"My son was one of the students on that list as well as seven other students that go here at STEM," Strobel said.
Strobel said she has a screenshot of the group text with the five girls where one of them said, "We should make a list of people we want to kill" and named eight students total.
"I felt sick to my stomach and wondered what was gonna happen next if the school was going to suspend these students or expel – I wasn't sure," Strobel said.
What happened next was a school assembly where it was addressed, Strobel said, and she was told the girls who made the list received a one-day suspension.
"I don't agree with a one-day suspension," Strobel said. "I think we live in a time where especially in Colorado that should be unacceptable."
STEM Lab Principal Tracy Tellinger sent a letter home to parents which reads:
In an ongoing effort to make you aware of matters affecting our school, I want to inform you that mid-week, we were made aware that several seventh-grade students made threatening statements about other students.
We immediately consulted with our law enforcement partners and district security team, who conducted an investigation and determined that these threats were not credible. We also informed families of the students who were mentioned in these messages.
This type of conduct is completely unacceptable, and we take it very seriously. Appropriate action has been taken with the students involved according to our disciplinary process.
Our administrative team talked with all of our seventh grade students on Thursday to remind them of the importance of speaking up if they see or hear something that makes them feel unsafe. Students can do this by contacting a trusted adult at the school, a parent or by anonymously submitting information to Safe2Tell at safe2tell.org.
Additionally, School Resource Officer Festi will be coming to our school next week to discuss social media safety, digital citizenship and other safety issues, as part of our regular efforts to teach students about safety and health matters that can affect them.
Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.
Strobel said the response from the school is not enough.
"Absolutely horrible and terrified for my son," Strobel said.
Strobel said her son has yet to come back to school since the 'kill list' was made last week and she does not know if he will ever come back. They are considering transferring.
"There should be a little bit more severity of 'We don't joke around like this. We don't talk like this. Our school doesn't stand for this,' and that looks like giving support to the victims and not focusing on these kids who made the list need to come back to school ASAP," Strobel said.
Joe Ferdani is the Chief Communications Officer for the Adams 12 Five Star School District. Ferdani said the district did not want to comment any further other than the letter that was sent out to parents.
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