By Mindy Ragan Wood
Staff Writer
A Piedmont middle school student who reportedly talked about shooting classmates made comments that a particular female student would make a good “sex slave,” a law enforcement report confirms.
The male student was suspended for two weeks after he was accused of uttering the violent threats. The case, investigated by Piedmont police, has been referred to the municipal prosecutor’s office.
Piedmont police were called to the middle school to speak with Principal Mike Smith and Assistant Principal Erin Pruitt on Nov. 12. Smith and Pruitt informed Officer Jack Neumann that at least two students accused a male classmate of threatening to bring a gun to school to do harm to other students.
“In the statements both girls stated they overheard (the student) say he was going to ‘shoot school’ and get suspended for bringing a weapon to school,” the officer’s report reads. “Also stated she overheard (the accused) say something about shooting someone multiple times but she was unsure who he was referring to.”
The accusation against the student included alleged bullying and ‘objectifying’ female students on a daily basis.
The boy who made the alleged threats was said to “make inappropriate comments about other girls’ bodies and at some point, (he said) that (a female student) would make a good ‘sex slave,’’ the report states.
Neumann followed up on Nov. 14 to speak to students involved in the inquiry. Investigators interviewed students separate from each other, a method used by law enforcement to test the answers of each student.
One student interviewed said they were unaware of any threats made at the school but did accuse the boy of being a bully. Another student recalled the teen threatened to ‘run her (a student) over with a truck’ and made other comments about her appearance. Another student corroborated the sex slave comment.
A male student, who said he is no longer friends with the accused, alleged that he used a vape in the restroom and “talks a lot about using drugs,” the report reads.
A second accusation leveled at another student last week was unsubstantiated, an email from district officials show.
A parent who did not wish to be identified told the Piedmont-Surrey Gazette that parents only learned of the first incident last Tuesday. It was not known if school officials asked the students to keep the information from their parents.
After the second student was accused, students told their parents they were afraid to attend school the next day and told them about the first incident that occurred two weeks earlier.
Social media erupted in outrage from parents who were in the dark about the student who was suspended.
On Tuesday evening at 5:30 an email was sent out to parents stating the accusation made against the second student was not substantiated. It made no mention of the first incident.
Requests for comment from Superintendent James White were not returned at press time.
