PEKIN, Ill. – A student at Rankin School in Pekin is facing discipline after making a potentially threatening comment.
School administrators of the K-8 school learned last Thursday that a student had made comments to another student about having a gun, going into a building, and coming out with a “boom”.
Parents were told about the incident on Friday by email.
Rankin Superintendent Matt Gordon told 25 News, the student was interviewed, along with their parents, on Friday morning before school. Officials said the comments were “non-specific, inappropriate, and insensitive,” but not a direct threat.
The student was reportedly talking about a video game to another student, but didn’t intend for the comments to be threatening. The student also made an “off-color joke” and comments “related to ‘pressure points’ on a person,” which the student heard in a movie.
Gordon said the school’s Threat Assessment Team determined the comments presented “low-minimal risk.” Law enforcement was made aware of the situation.
A Rankin parent, who wanted to remain anonymous, said he and other parents were disappointed that they learned about the comments a day later. They want to see better policies for notifying parents and law enforcement when these incidents occur.
The parent also said when he finally found out about the potential threat, he called Pekin Police and the Tazewell County Sheriff’s Department to learn more. Officers said they didn’t know anything about the situation and had not been contacted by Rankin administration yet.
Superintendent Gordon is encouraging parents to talk with their students about potential threats, and remind them to report things they hear that could be threatening.
Gordon said school administrators are reviewing the process for handling these kinds of incidents.
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