A teacher at the St. Stanislaus Catholic Parish School in Indiana, Angelica Carrasquillo-Torres, 25, has been fired for threatening to kill people. Angelica told a 5th-grade student at the school, Portia Jones, that she was at the bottom of her “kill list” and that there were a number of other students and teachers targeted for elimination on the list.
“I’m really, like, scared and worried,” said Portia Jones. “She said she wanted to choke us, and she wanted to kill herself.”
After Angelica made this revelation to Portia on Wednesday at about noon, the student reported this to her counselor, who notified the school principal. Angelica was summoned to the principal’s office to confirm the facts, and she indeed admitted to the principal that what she told Portia was true and that she indeed maintained a kill list.
The teacher also mentioned the name of another student who was on her termination list, but she did not provide the list to the authorities. The principal ordered the teacher to leave the school immediately and never return. Then the East Chicago police were notified and officers were dispatched to the school at 4930 Indianapolis Boulevard at about 5 pm.
On Thursday morning, the police visited Angelica’s home at Griffith and arrested her without incident. She was charged with felony intimidation on Friday.
“A 5th-grade student told his/her Counselor that their 5th-grade teacher made comments to him/her about killing herself, students, and staff at St. Stanislaus School,” the East Chicago Police Department wrote on Facebook. “The teacher further told the student that she has a list and that he/she was at the bottom of that list. During the conversation, the teacher named a specific student on her list, but did not provide the list.”
A number of parents expressed dismay that the teacher should not have been allowed to go home on Wednesday and that the school principal ought to have invited the police at around 12 pm when the matter was first brought to their attention and not around 4:40 pm when the police were called.
“They should have never let her walk out the doors,” said Quiannis Jones, Portia’s father. “They should’ve called the police right then and there. That’s a threat to the school. They really need to work on this one because this is something serious. She’s really, probably, not ever going back there.”
Although the police said on Thursday that the school was safe and secure, Principal Foy asked the school to proceed with virtual classes on Friday and made counselors available to students, staff, and parents who need them.