Officials at Timberline High School in Boise, Idaho, have responded as students prepared to protest over violent Snapchat messages between football players surfaced.
According to EastIdahoNews.com, the messages gained attention over the weekend through a petition that sought the removal of the football players for alleged messages about wanting to rape and kill a female student in a group chat on Snapchat.
The petition, which now has 9,000 signatures, launched after photos of the chats began circulating online.
The Boise School District sent an email Sunday night to students and parents that was signed by Timberline principal Chad Wright, area director Shelley Bonds and superintendent Wendy Johnson.
The statement was aimed at providing clarity about “what has or has not been done by school officials” regarding “the disturbing social media posts involving several students at Timberline High School.”
The school was made aware of the texts on Friday and contacted police the same day.
“Boise Police asked us to pause any internal action until the reported threats had been reviewed and investigated by law enforcement, so as not to jeopardize any potential criminal investigation,” the email said. “At this time, Boise Police are continuing to investigate, and we are taking definitive steps to ensure the safety, security and privacy of our students and staff.”
School district officials said they were limited on what they could say but said they have “zero tolerance for the type of behavior and language attributed to any member of our school community.”
“We understand that situations like this, where there is a lot of information circulating publicly, but seemingly little official action, are frustrating,” the email said. “And given the explicit content in the posts, emotions like anger, fear and sorrow are natural reactions. Please know that we are working through this as quickly and as thoughtfully as possible.”
The petition asked for school administrators to remove the students from the football team and expel them from Timberline. It also called on schools to implement proactive policies for the future, such as “comprehensive education on respectful behavior and consent, as well as a platform for students to safely report incidents without fear.”
The Instagram account where the petition was launched also encouraged students to boycott the school’s homecoming football game on Thursday.
