The Long Debrief
Mammoth Unified School Superintendent Lois Klein hosted a debrief Tuesday in the Mammoth High School MPR (Multi-Purpose Room)to give parents more complete information as to what occurred two weeks ago regarding a school threat.
A Mammoth High School senior was detained by police on Tuesday, April 24 and taken into custody for making several verbal threats of violence over three months time.
According to Mono County District Attorney Tim Kendall, the student’s bail hearing is set for May 29, by which time a forensic evaluation is expected to be complete. Until that time, he remains in custody with no bail.
Klein began the meeting by acknowledging frankly, “I wish I could say we were perfect [in response to the school threat] … and I can’t.”
She then offered a timeline of events.
The first threat occurred in January. At that time, said Klein, law enforcement was called in, and the student was spoken to by both police and Principal Chris Powell.
In February, the student made shooting gestures with his hands in the classroom.
Again, he was brought in and lectured.
But what happened the next day is what Klein described as a key mistake.
When the student’s teacher attempted to address him about what had occurred the day before, the student responded belligerently, threatening to shoot up the school.
