Parents: Washingtonville student victims forced to interact with teen accused of putting them on ‘kill list’
Families say they were never notified the student had returned to school and some of the students named on the list are now sitting near him in class.
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Parents are coming forward with new details about a Washingtonville High School investigation last March involving what they describe as a handwritten “kill list.”
They say nearly a dozen students were named on the list, sparking an investigation by the school district and Blooming Grove police.
Parent Melony Nunez tells News 12 a detective notified her that her daughter was among the students named. She says her child felt safe returning to school during the investigation after the family was told the student at the center of it was no longer there. Nunez says that changed when her daughter returned for the start of the new school year and quickly realized he was back.
“She’s like, ‘Mom. He walked into the classroom. I’m in the bathroom crying right now,’” Nunez said.
Nunez says her daughter now has to interact with the student at school and sit near him in class.
“Why is my daughter being subjected to this trauma?” Nunez said. “Why were we not given a heads up?”
Another parent whose child was also named on the list asked News 12 to conceal her identity, saying she fears pushback from the school district. She says her daughter was a freshman when police contacted the family.
“We were informed by a detective knocking at our door that my daughter was on a ‘kill list.’ In parentheses, it said ‘problem’ next to her name,” the parent said.
News 12 first reported on the incident in March, when the Washingtonville Central School District and police released only vague information about an investigation involving high school students. The district said there was no active threat.
The parents say they were told they would be notified if the student returned.
“The principal said there’d be a meeting set up and we’d go over procedures and all this other stuff if and when he returns,” the unidentified parent said.
They say that notification never came.
The unidentified parent says her child is now being forced to interact with the student during an after-school activity.
“What laws are protecting our children who are fearful to go to school?” Nunez said. “What laws are protecting their safety?”
Washingtonville Central School District Superintendent Larry Washington says federal privacy laws prevent the district from commenting on the case. He says the district worked with Blooming Grove police and that the investigation is now considered closed.
News 12 asked the district to respond to the parents’ allegations that they were not notified and that their children are being forced to interact with the student who allegedly wrote the list. The district has not responded to those questions.
News 12 has also reached out to Blooming Grove police. Those calls have not been returned.
