Suspended teacher said shooter should have pulled fire alarm as diversion to fulfill hit list: report
A Michigan teacher has been suspended after allegedly telling his class that Oxford school shooter Ethan Crumbley should have pulled a fire alarm as a diversion so that he could fulfill his hit list.
In the wake of the Oxford shooting, which left four dead, Hopkins High School in Allegan County reportedly sent out a memo designed to assist teachers in talking to their students about the tragedy. But according to News Channel 3, one teacher "took it too far."
"Hopkins High School principal Ken Szczepanski said the comments referenced physical violence and weapons on the day after the deadly shootings at Oxford High School," the station reported.
One parent told the station that her child was in the teacher's class on Wednesday.
“The things that he said, how he would’ve committed the act differently with detail, is extremely scary,” the parent said. “That he would’ve pulled a smoke detector, so that he could create a distraction, in order to carry out his hit list and kill the people that he would need to. It was gut-wrenching devastation that a grown adult would mentally harm our children this way.”
Szczepanski called the teacher's comments "insensitive" and "off-script" — and they reportedly led to rumors that an employee planned to "shoot up" the school on Friday.
The district superintendent sent a letter to parents on Friday saying the rumors stemmed from an inappropriate classroom conversation. Now, parents are calling for the teacher — who reportedly is on leave pending a police investigation — to be fired.
“Zero tolerance, zero tolerance," one parent said. "He should absolutely not be back in school or teaching anywhere, ever."
Watch the report here.