Two Fort Osage High School students could face criminal charges after posting a racist and threatening post on Snapchat on Monday.
The threat targeted African American students and brought up how the writer wanted to come to the school and shoot them.
Parents received a statement from the school district on Tuesday alerting them of the post.
Tanea Jones, whose son is a junior at Fort Osage, said she was shocked when she first saw a picture of the Snapchat.
While most the message was too graphic to share, Jones read part of it to 41 Action News.
"One of these days I'm going to have enough and come into the school with a gun and shoot all of you," the post read.
As a result of the racist threat, Jones said her son was thinking about possibly switching schools.
"He's like, 'No. I don't feel safe up here. I want to leave. I want to come home. This is not right,'" she explained. "You shouldn't have to be a black male or female scared to go to school because of your own social media and this is what you get."
Jones also voiced displeasure about how the situation was handled by the school district.
She believed that because the post contained a threat of gun violence, school leaders should have communicated more with parents.
"An email is not good enough. It's not going to make me feel safe," Jones explained. "They didn't tell me nothing that made me feel like when I ship him out of here tomorrow to go to school that's he's going to be okay."
The statement released to parents by the Fort Osage High School Principal Scott Moore read as follows:
Dear Parents,
We were made aware of a social media post, via Snapchat, that was made yesterday afternoon that included racial slurs and threats towards our students and school. We began our investigation immediately and have now identified the two students who were responsible for creating the post. We are currently working with the Jackson Country Sheriff's Department and the students' families. This matter is not being taken lightly and consequences have been assigned.
We appreciate those parents and students who brought the post to our attention.
On Tuesday, the district stood by its response and said the investigation into the matter did not show a credible threat to students.
District spokesperson Stephanie Smith said while the school offers programs and resources to promote diversity at the high school, it can be tough to monitor possible violence and racist beliefs amongst the students.
"I think anytime you're going to bring 1,500 students together every single day from different ethnic diversities and different backgrounds, to think we can all get along is probably unrealistic," she explained.
However, as a result of the threat, Smith said the district may take a closer look at its diversity resources and programs.
"Anytime a situation like this arises, we're going to take a look at what are we doing and what else can we do," she explained.
The Jackson County Sheriff's Office said it was continuing to investigate the case on Tuesday evening.
Criminal charges are still possible for the two students alleged to have posted the Snapchat.
Moving forward, Jones hoped more would be done to prevent a similar incident from happening again.
"The kids should be able to go to school, be at ease and be calm that everything is okay and they're safe in this school," she explained.
At 10 a.m. on Wednesday, a group of parents and a spiritual leader told 41 Action News they planned to hold a demonstration outside Fort Osage High School to call for an end to racism and violence.
