Long Beach teacher allegedly makes comment to students about bringing gun to school
A parent says her nephew told her a teacher allegedly made a comment about bringing a gun to school and shooting students.
LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- A teacher in Long Beach is being accused of making a threat to students that involved bringing a gun to school.
Elsa Barragan told Eyewitness News her nephew told her the teacher at Woodrow Wilson High School allegedly made a comment about bringing a gun to campus.
Her family and friends held posters outside the school's campus in Long Beach Friday to bring attention to the matter.
"Mr. Hamilton just randomly came up to his group and just stated that the school was lucky they didn't let him bring his 9 millimeter glock or else he would've shot four students," said Barragan. "After he said this, he proceeded to point at his own forehead and said I would've shot them there."
Barragan, whose son also attends Wilson High School, said she was shocked.
She said the comment was allegedly made on Wednesday, Nov. 2.
Barragan said she reached out to school leaders, including the principal and assistant principal, and also went to the school in person.
She said after feeling like not enough was being done, she took matters into her own hands and posted about the alleged incident on Instagram. The post has since garnered more than 5,300 likes.
"Our kids are supposed to come to school and feel safe," she said. "There's not supposed to feel uncomfortable, or feel uneasy when they're going to somebody's class."
The Long Beach Unified School District's public information officer, Chris Eftychiou, sent Eyewitness News the following statement regarding the claims.
"We are aware of a social media post regarding an alleged, inappropriate statement made by a Wilson teacher. We have been in the process of investigating the matter since we learned about it. At this time, the teacher involved has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. Due to laws protecting employee confidentiality, we cannot comment further on the details of personnel matters."
Barragan said she also went to Long Beach police.
The department told ABC7 it's also investigating the incident.
"He's not someone who should be teaching, period," said Barragan of the teacher, who hasn't been formally identified by officials.
"Ultimately, I want him out of this school. I want him to not be able to teach anymore. Period."
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