Two Santa Fe HS students disciplined for threatening text message

Image 1 of 2

Two Santa Fe High School students are facing disciplinary action for sending text messages to each other with threatening comments against other students, officials say.

In a letter sent home to parents on Wednesday, Santa Fe ISD said the messages were reported to school administrators and law enforcement was contacted immediately. Police identified the students involved in the text conversation.

According to the Galveston County District Attorney’s Office, the text communication happened between the two students; the messages were apparently not sent to any other students, and a direct threat was not made to any person.

The Galveston County District Attorney’s Office says their office and Santa Fe ISD police reviewed the findings of the investigation and agreed that the facts of the case, including the communication and the context in which it was made, did not rise to the level of a criminal offense.

Santa Fe ISD says the proper disciplinary action has been taken based on to the student code of conduct.

Santa Fe ISD released this statement:

Yesterday afternoon, Administrators at Santa Fe High School were made aware of a text message including threatening comments involving a limited number of students at our high school campus. This was an isolated incident; however, due to the events our school community has experienced this past year, the District remains committed to continuous communication regarding any incidents that involve student safety. Appropriate disciplinary action was taken based on the student code of conduct. No further action was warranted as charges were declined by the Galveston County District Attorney’s Office. We will not share any more information with media than what we have shared with our parents. Due to student privacy laws, this is all the information the District is able to share.

Santa Fe parents and community members have been highly critical of school authorities since the deadly shooting May 18th that took the lives of eight students and two teachers. They say the school has not been doing enough to prioritize the safety of their kids. 

Some parents like Jamie Harrison said school authorities called her Wednesday, informing her that her daughter was one of the names listed on the "kill list." 

"Yes, they actually called it a kill list. The school apparently found out about it on Tuesday but didn't tell us about it until Wednesday," Harrison said.

Harrison criticized the school and the DA's office, saying authorities are downplaying the threat and still not taking these threats seriously enough. 

"This is my kid's life you're talking about, and other kid's lives. This is not a joke, this is not something to play with," Harrison said.