Riverside Elementary School Student Who Allegedly Made 'Kill List' Is Allowed Back To School

RIVERSIDE (CBSLA.com) — Parents, who were alarmed over a "kill list" that was allegedly made by a Riverside student, demanded that the fifth grader be expelled from Lake Matthews Elementary School.

The moms and dads made their voices heard during a Riverside Unified School District board meeting Tuesday night.

But the board is allowing the student to return to campus on Wednesday anyway after a two-day suspension.

Last Thursday, the student showed the kill list to some of his classmates, according to the school.

Caeliah said her name was on the list. She suspected that her classmate may have been upset with another student when he made the list.

"He's not usually mad. But just on Thursday, he pulled my friend's hair. And then, that's what started it," Caeliah recalled.

Many parents said they will not allow their children to go to school if the fifth grader is allowed back on campus.

"Every mass murder, they go back, and they say the signs were there, but no body saw it. And right now, this kid has produced kill lists. He's written the list out, a manifesto just like the killers in Columbine. They had kill lists," parent Paul Jacques pointed out.

Parents were also upset that school officials notified them about the list over the weekend instead of last Thursday when the staff found out about it.

"This is an important issue. This was a murder list," another parent expressed his concern the school board.

School officials told parents a threat assessment was done. Law enforcement was brought in. And there's no danger to students.

"We immediately began an investigation, convened our site threat assessment team and notified law enforcement," Principal Pamela Williams wrote in a letter to parents. "As a result of this comprehensive process, it was determined that there was, and is, no danger to any of Lake Matthews' students."

"We do absolutely everything we can to ensure the continued safety of every student every day here at Riverside Unified School District," said Superintendent David Hansen.

Over the weekend, parents sent a letter to the superintendent to petition the student's return to school.

They wrote in part: "We feel that allowing this student on the school premises presents an imminent danger to our children. Thus, we decided that we will not allow our children to attend school until the 5th grade student has been removed from the school premises permanently."

"Appropriate steps have been taken to both hold this student accountable for the creation and sharing of this list and ensure that procedures are in place for ongoing monitoring and support for this and any student who is involved in this kind of behavior," Williams added.