Hundreds of Timberline High students walked out of school Wednesday morning to call for accountability as police investigate a threat targeting another student.
According to an online petition, members of Timberline’s football team used Snapchat to “call for a female student to be raped and killed.”
Police began investigating the reported threats last week after Timberline officials contacted Boise police. District officials have said police asked the district to pause its own investigation to avoid interference with the case.
The district has said it will conduct its own investigation once police allow it to proceed. Even if the police investigation does not result in criminal charges, district officials said the students involved could still face discipline for violating school policy.
The situation has circulated on social media and prompted district leaders to cancel Timberline’s homecoming football game and postpone other related events.
More than 200 students stood in protest across the street from Timberline High Wednesday morning, crowding the front of a Starbucks that closed its drive-through to accommodate them.
“I think just an apology from those boys, accountability, maybe some consequences,” said Haley Coburn, a Timberline student who held a sign that read “stop sexual violence.”
“We need accountability for these kids, who are almost men,” said Shelly Burleson, a mother of two Timberline students. “These kids need to be expelled. They should not be allowed to attend classes here anymore. … To subject the rest of the school to feeling unsafe around them is not okay.”
Burleson held a sign that read “rape is not a joke.”
“People want justice because it seems like nothing’s happened so far,” said sophomore Koston Adams.
Here are photos from Wednesday’s walkout:
