Parents in Arkansas talk about what happens when kids threaten schools

Bryant, Arkansas – As threats spread around the state, many Bryant parents have been worried, afraid, and furious. These sentiments are now being felt strongly since on Wednesday, a student who had threatened Bryant’s Bethel Middle School was taken into custody.

The parents are all questioning whether the sanctions that the pupils are facing will be sufficient to resolve the problem.

Parent Mary Allen remarked, “It’s really, really, really scary.”

Similar to the 12-year-old Bryant student, several teenagers who were detained for allegedly making threats against schools are being accused of terroristic threats.

To help deter future instances of this kind of behavior, some parents believe that the penalty ought to be more severe.

Parent Bob O’Neal added, “Maybe they should get charged the same as an adult.”

According to other parents, a child’s behavior ought to be a reflection of the parents.

Dee Long, Hornet’s mother, stated, “I do feel that it needs to be on both sides, I think the parent and the student.”

According to Long, the school has been excellent in alerting parents and being open and honest with them when there has been a danger.

“This year, the administration has done an amazing job of keeping us informed about all that is going on at the schools, both good and bad,” Long remarked.

Long, however, feels that parents must take responsibility for helping to change their children’s behavior and that schools cannot be the only ones teaching children about the consequences of their choices.

Allen stated, “The parents need to be accountable for their children’s behavior if they aren’t going to take any action to change it.”

Even if the students don’t plan to commit acts of violence, Allen claims that the idea of actual school violence is horrifying.

Allen stated that it is a waste of time and effort for people to do such things and that someone must be held accountable for it.

The Bryant Police Department requests that anybody who witnesses or learns of a threat notify authorities right away.