An unspecified number of white students at a California Catholic high school have been suspended after sending a threatening video to a black classmate with one of them holding up a noose, reports the Modesto Bee.
In the Snapchat video one student can be seen holding the noose over his head and saying, "You must die, motherf*cker" as his friends laugh. The video then cuts to a gun being fired.
According to police, Tanya Porter contacted administrators at Central Catholic High after seeing the 12-second Snapchat video which mentions her son's name. Porter said her son recognized the threatening student days after receiving the video when he saw him walking into a classroom delivering papers from the office.
The student has since been suspended and Modesto police are taking the threat seriously, opening up a hate crime investigation.
Attorney Jacq Wilson, who has stepped in to help the family, said everyone should be taking the incident seriously.
“When has bullying ever been a joke? When has a death threat ever been a joke?” he said. “Right now, with everything going on (nationally), what were they waiting for, for someone to die? The fact is that people are hurt. People are scared.”
Central Catholic High President Jim Pecchenino agreed.
“Students involved in that video have been suspended. They are not on our campus. We'll follow our process for discipline,” Pecchenino said. “The whole video is despicable, every part of it. The noose, the gun going off, it’s just unconscionable to view. It's very unsettling.”
"It’s a hate crime. It’s possibly even a domestic act of terrorism. It’s a criminal threat,” said Wilson.
No arrests have been made, with the family of the victim expected to meet with school authorities and detectives Friday morning.
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