Had made racist insults to other student
ROCKINGHAM — Law enforcement searched a Rockingham Middle School student on the school’s campus Tuesday morning after they were made aware of a threatening photo of a child holding a gun circulating on social media.
The photo, which was apparently taken via Snapchat, was captioned “Don’t come to school tomorrow,” Detective Clint Neeley with the Rockingham Police Department confirmed. No gun was found during the search of the student on school premises, and the school was not placed on lockdown at any point, according to Neeley.
Neeley said there was not an active threat posed to anyone at the school. This incident is under investigation. No charges have been filed at this time.
“The photo is believed to have been taken at the student’s home,” Neeley said in an email. “The child took a selfie and sent it to another student after school hours.”
The photo, which the Daily Journal has reviewed, includes a cluster of emojis in a semicircle around the top of the child’s head as he holds the gun in front of his face pointed upward, without his finger on the trigger.
Ursula Evans said the message was sent directly to her daughter, who is an 11-year-old sixth-grader, from a male student she has classes with. Evans said that the male student in question has been antagonizing her daughter for some time, including making multiple racist statements towards her.
Evans said that about a month prior, the same male student told her daughter that she “belongs in the 1800’s and should be picking his cotton,” which resulted in the school giving the male student several days of in-school suspension.
Her daughter received the Snapchat photo containing the threatening message on Monday night, and Evans believes the message was in retaliation for the previous incident.
“She’s in shock and doesn’t know what to think,” Evans said of her daughter. “She doesn’t want to be anywhere near [the male student]. It’s unfair — she’s in cheerleading, A/B honor roll and a great student.”
Evans’s daughter did not attend school Tuesday morning because she was afraid, her mother said. Once aware of the threat, Evans contacted the school resource officer and the police department.
The male student and Evan’s daughter went to L.J. Bell Elementary School together and have some mutual friends, according to Evans, but are not friends with each other. They share some classes at Rockingham Middle School.
Evans added that family members of hers have reached out to the F.B.I.
“The school system needs to do better,” Evans. “Some parents weren’t even aware of the situation.”
Evans referenced the Oxford High School shooting in Michigan last week, which claimed four lives, and said that schools need to be more proactive.
“These schools have to do better,” she said. “A lot of kids’ lives could be saved if they really investigate and see what’s going on.”
A spokesperson for Richmond County Schools did not respond to a request for comment by press time Tuesday.
