Carson middle school target of 2 threats in one week; parents, students concerned

LAUSD families scared of social media threats

After multiple threats of a shooting at a South Bay school, families say they're worried. Some students aren't going to school because of fear.

CARSON, Calif. - Parents and students at Stephen M. White Middle School in Carson are concerned, after the school received multiple threats of a shooting in less than a week.

The tension has led some students to stay home due to fear, after reading viral social media posts. One of the posts, shared with FOX 11 by a parent, featured a black background and a gun with the words "F--- Stephen White finally up."

"As a mother, my anxiety kind of went up the roof seeing my 13-year-old panicking to go to school," said Becky Aleman.

Aleman said her daughter skipped school on Tuesday, after seeing the first threats. She returned to school on Wednesday. But then, on Thursday, a new online threat. Aleman rushed to the school, where she found a line of parents urgently trying to pull their kids out of class, worried their child would be shot.

Multiple parents reached out to FOX 11, saying they thought Stephen White Middle School was not responsive to their demands to know if the school was safe.

FOX 11 reached out to the school, but deferred to the Los Angeles Unified School District. In a statement to FOX 11, the district said, in part:

Last night, our school learned of a social media threat that continues to circulate through the internet and raised concerns about the safety of our campus. It appears that these posts are connected to threats that have been deemed non-credible by the Los Angeles School Police Department. We are following district protocols in dealing with the situation. In an abundance of caution, we will have School Police provide extra patrol.

But, to some parents and students, the words felt hollow.

"I feel like the school didn't really take it that seriously," said one 13-year-old student at the school. "They just expected us to just handle it on our own."

"Fake or not, it's something that really triggers the mind," Aleman said. "It's sickening nowadays that the world just isn't as pure as it was once before."

FOX 11 also reached out to a threat assessment expert who is not affiliated with the LAUSD. They said that the disctrict's response was appropriate to the level of threat.