Classes were suspended in a school in Chile due to a threat of “school massacre”

The educational establishment, located eight kilometers from the city center, received an unprecedented threat against its students. A video from YouTube under Anonymous's face and with a distorted voice says: “Don't think you're immortals, we know all their names and facial features,” they say. For which, it was decided to suspend face-to-face classes until further notice.

The announcement began to circulate during the weekend of March 26, which worried the authorities of the educational, communal and also government establishments. In order to avoid any type of attack, it was decided to suspend classes since Monday, March 28 and so far only teachers and the school management is attending school.

In the video it is heard: “We will take revenge, we will eliminate room by room, no matter who. There are many of us, don't try to save yourself, let alone run. Your feet will not be saved by a machine gun, and we will also be gentle and feel no pain. Don't be afraid, we just want to have fun.”

The tricky voice continues: “We will also give them clues as to who we are, but first they will have to kill me. But I'll be comfortable, after I've killed them and heard their screams of crap, crying flaites and bleeding assholes. There's nothing more fun than that, right? Don't think they're immortals, we know all their names and facial features.”

“Everyone who stands in our way will die. We're not a mafia, we're a family and nobody touches my family. I say goodbye cordially and have given you a brief notice. Goodbye”, he concludes.

After the threats, the Director of Education of the municipality of Quinta Normal accepted the suspension of classes, in order to protect the students. Mayor Karina Delfino was informed, who said in a statement that “we are aware of the concerns of our educational community, families and students and are taking steps to investigate and discover what lies behind these threats.”

That is why they contacted the Chilean Carabineros and the Investigative Police (PDI) to make a formal complaint and from the institutions of order and public security they pledged to add their presence in the establishment. This is how the day of March 29 dawned, with police officers around the school.

Commissioner Pablo Rivas of the PDI Metropolitan Cybercrime Brigade indicated that “the threats were published through social networks, specifically YouTube, against students of the establishment, against violating their integrity.”

With regard to the motivations for the threat, the Commissioner said that “so far it is not known and would be a matter of investigation”. He added that “various technical steps will be carried out in order to establish who the perpetrators are”.

The president of the College of Teachers of Chile, Carlos Díaz, said that “government intervention is urgently needed to be able, first of all, to thoroughly investigate and sanction accordingly.”

The president of the teaching union stated that “we cannot allow classes in Chile, the realization of school work to be carried out in this way. It is urgent for the minister (Marco Ávila) to intervene, for the Government to become a party and clarify and sanction those who are behind this situation,” said Diaz.

Meeting of authorities for school violence

Following the latest violence in various educational establishments in the Metropolitan region, government authorities held a meeting to address conflicts. These are related to gender-based violence, where some schools reported sexual harassment and abuse against their students, both by their peers and in some cases by teachers themselves.

The meeting was attended by the Ombudsman for Children, Patricia Muñoz, the Minister of Education Marco Avila, the Undersecretary of Justice Jaime Gajardo, representatives of the Chilean Association of Municipalities, as well as the Ministry of Social Development and the Undersecretariat for Crime Prevention.

Education Minister Marco Avila said that “the events we are experiencing today are serious enough to put us all to work quickly. However, we also want to recognize the advanced path, in Chile we have a policy of school coexistence for many years and that we believe should be promoted.”

“We know that many of these events involve children and adolescents under the age of 18 who are subjects of law. Therefore, our concern is related to the victims and perpetrators,” said the Secretary of State.

After the meeting, the Office of the Ombudsman for Children said that “we have formulated proposals for action, some of which relate to urgent interventions and, of course, long-term work”.

“Due to the events we have seen, we think that there is a very critical approach to mental and emotional health, which is work that must be managed in the educational communities, but there is also an important role for the Ministry of Health,” said Patricia Muñoz.

At the moment, classes are still suspended until they can guarantee the safety of the students and from the Benjamín Franklin School of Quinta Normal, they said that they could eventually return to classes electronically.

KEEP READING