Officials in South Texas border school kicked out a news crew from Telemundo who had gone to the Edinburg CISD administration building to inquire about death threats to students.
The incident took place this week, when a news crew from the local Telemundo station went to a school bullying hearing involving multiple female students who had been receiving death threats from another student at Flores Zapata School. Breitbart Texas first reported the issue, revealing that school officials had tried to cover up the case, going as far as having the students delete a series of video threats where one student in particular talks about killing another student.
At the hearing, school officials had called some parents and their children to investigate the threats. However, when a news crew from the local Telemundo station arrived, ECISD Public Information Officer Lisa Ayala and a security guard escorted the crew out of the building and told them they could not film on district property, even though the sidewalk outside the building is public. The news crew crossed the street and continued conducting their interviews and speaking with various parents. School officials told the news crew that they would not be speaking on the matter or releasing any information.
One of the main issues in the hearing dealt with how Flores Zapata Principal Araceli De Los Santos had handled the threats and apparently tried to cover up the issue, telling parents that the issue was resolved without taking steps to ensure the safety of the targeted students, said Octavia Lavon Martinez, an attorney representing one of the victims.
“Ordering a student to delete a video before an investigation is done,” Lavon Martinez said. “That is tampering with evidence.”
The attorney revealed that as of the day before the hearing, which is two weeks after the threat was made, school officials still had the victim and the aggressor in the same classroom.
During the hearing, it was revealed that there are at least five students who have received death threats from the same aggressor and that the offending student is rumored to have brought a knife to school on various occasions.
At the end of the hearing, parents were told that a committee would review the case and then file a series of recommendations. According to Lavon Martinez, while that shows an effort from the school board, school administrators have yet to take immediate action to protect the targeted students.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
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