The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a racially-toned threat that had been written on a table in the cafeteria at Arapahoe Ridge High School, 6600 Arapahoe Road, on April 13. The threat warned that members of a minority group at the school would be killed this Friday, April 16 stating, “On Friday we will kill all the Mexicans.”
A joint investigation was conducted by the Boulder Valley School District and the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, which revealed that a 16-year-old male student was responsible for the threat and was arrested at the school Wednesday morning, April 16. The authorities were able to identify the student responsible after the Sheriff’s Office School Resource Officer remembered and reported which student was sitting at the cafeteria table prior to the threat being reported. The school’s faculty members also received a tip indicating the male student was the one responsible for the threat. The student responsible is a juvenile, so his name is not being released, but he is being charged with one count of Ethnic Intimidation, a class one misdemeanor.
Boulder Police working with school officials are also investing another threat, racial in nature that was discovered in the bathroom at Boulder High School on April12. The threat referenced alleged violence stating, “KKK is back and all black people will die on 4/16/2010.” The school met with African American student yesterday afternoon, as well as will all the faculty members and notes have gone home to parents. Students have been asked to report any concerns and work out a buddy system.
The district does not know whether the incident at Arapahoe Ridge High School is a copycat of the Boulder High threat or if it is a random incident. The principal has requested help from the community and will be having a meeting to discuss the issues at hand and provide support. The meeting is schedule for Wednesday, April 14 at Boulder High School Library at 4 p.m. inviting all concerned community members to meet with school staff and administrators and Boulder Police. There will also be a follow up meeting scheduled for Friday, April 16 at the Family Learning Center, 3164 34th Street in Boulder.
