Officers have seized a Florida teacher’s firearms after he allegedly made comments threatening to “shoot” students after discovering their online posts in which his transgender identity was “discussed negatively.”
The teacher, a biological man who uses “she/her” pronouns, was employed at Fox Chapel Middle School within the Hernando County School District in Florida. An incident report obtained by Crisis in the Classroom states that the teacher allegedly “made a comment that she wanted to shoot some students due to them not performing to their ability.”
The teacher was reported to have said he was having “bad thoughts” and was referred to the school’s guidance counselor on March 24th. He allegedly disclosed that he was having suicidal ideation and made disturbing comments about harming students. That same day, the Hernando County Sheriff’s Department seized all firearms and ammunition from the teacher’s home, pending an investigation.
The school did not immediately fire the teacher after hearing the threatening comments, but rather released an open letter to parents weeks later claiming, “the teacher will be removed from all student contact and, pending the outcome of the district’s review, no date has been determined for a return to duty.” Parents in the district were outraged by the lack of transparency from school administrators, and by the fact that the teacher remains employed, pending further investigation.
The statement from the school also seems to contradict a statement later released by the Florida Department of Education, which simply stated that the teacher is “no longer at the school.”
“Earlier this week, the Department was informed of a situation regarding student safety at a school in Hernando County. Upon the Department bringing the concern to the Superintendent Wednesday evening, only then did the district remove the teacher from the school, effective yesterday, Thursday, April 13th. Therefore, the teacher is no longer at the school.”
The Florida Department of Education Official Statement
During a school district board meeting, parents expressed outrage that the school did not immediately let go of the teacher. “I’m basically here to gather facts so I can decide whether or not to pull my son out of Fox Chapel,” one father said to the school board. “The fact that it took two weeks for us, as parents, to find out that anything happened is mind-boggling,” another father said. According to WEAR News, other parents expressed that they too were considering pulling their children from school until the situation is resolved.
The school assured concerned parents that “all actions will be taken to ensure the campus is safe.”
