Yesterday at Glen A. Wilson High School in Hacienda Heights, CA, students were sent home early because of a rumored threat of violence, three days before the ninth anniversary of the massacre at Columbine High School, and one year after Virginia Tech: Parents concerned over school threat. And the school is closed today: SoCal High School Closed Friday Due To Rumored Threat.
From what I understand, the school has a large Asian American student body. Police searched students as they entered the campus yesterday, alarmed by a threat against the school that authorities discovered on a website. The message, apparently posted to Glen A. Wilson's Wikipedia page, specified the date of the shooting and the names of students who would be harmed. EDIT: I originally had the message posted and linked here, but I've taken it down for the sake of the students named, as they are minors.
Needless to say, it's pretty scary, regardless of whether or not this is a legitimate threat. It could certainly just be a stupid, sick prank. Unfortunately, we live in an age where these kinds of things have to be taken seriously. As you can see, the initial threat specifies several Asian names, as well as the badminton team (which I'm told is also largely made up of Asian kids) "and almost every single fob."
Sounds like someone out there has a lot of issues. I just wish people would find a way to deal with them in a way that did not involve a mass shooting. Hell, the way things have been going lately, whoever wrote this could very well be Asian too. We'll probably find out soon enough... (Thanks, Brian.)
UPDATE: A male student has been arrested in connection with alleged threats made against fellow students at Glen A. Wilson High School: Student arrested in high school threats. Interestingly, this article notes that even though many of the students named in the threats appeared to have Asian names, investigators haven't decided if it rises to the level of a hate crime. To be honest, that dimension hadn't really occurred to me.... but if they're bringing it up, I'm sure it's worth looking into.
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