Many parents keep Correia Middle School students home after report of gun incident

Dozens of parents kept their children home from Correia Middle School in Point Loma this week after they felt school officials had not taken sufficient action to protect students from a gun threat reported last week.

In voicemails and emails sent to parents over the Labor Day weekend, interim Principal Kyle Kupper said the school had received reports of a gun incident last week. The threat was deemed to be unsubstantiated, and no weapon was found.

Kupper also said students had received an anonymous text over the weekend about a possible threat at the school Sept. 5. That also was determined to be unsubstantiated.

San Diego Unified School District officials said Correia saw a dramatic dip in attendance Sept. 5, though they said they did not have an official number of students who were absent. A majority of students were back in class the next day, officials said.

Kupper told parents that all absences Sept. 5 would be marked as excused and that the morning would be “dedicated to activities for students to voice their thoughts about school safety and what that means and looks like to them.”

Some parents were planning a demonstration at the school the morning of Thursday, Sept. 7, to stand against threats of violence and harassment and to call on the district to maintain a safe learning environment for students, according to Stacey McLarry, the parent of a seventh-grader at Correia.

The incident in question began Aug. 29 when a boy in seventh grade reportedly took a gun to school.

McLarry said the boy told her daughter about the gun in class that day. Then after school, McLarry said, her daughter and another girl said the boy and another student brandished a silver handgun to them near campus. McLarry said she arrived shortly after and “the girls were visibly terrified, crying.”

Many parents decided to keep their students home from Correia Middle School on Sept. 5.

(Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

McLarry said her daughter had not reported the incident to staff out of fear but that she immediately returned to campus to report it.

McLarry said it also came to light that the boys reportedly had been sexually harassing girls on campus. She said more than a dozen girls have come forward to report such incidents.

McLarry said the boys were suspended, though district officials did not confirm that or the reported incidents, saying they could not comment about students’ disciplinary records.

Though Kupper said the reported threats were unsubstantiated, he said there would be an increased law enforcement presence on campus this week to ensure students’ safety.

In an email sent to parents Sept. 6, Kupper said school police continue to collaborate with San Diego police in the investigation.

McLarry said she and other parents began to organize the Sept. 5 sit-out when they learned the boys were set to return to campus this week. Many decided their children would not return to school until there is a satisfactory resolution, she added.

Safety protocols and student expectations will be discussed at a school forum scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 11, at the Correia auditorium, 4302 Valeta St., or through Zoom. To learn more, call (619) 560-4809.