Lawsuit alleges CCSD did little after classmates made death threat

A West Career and Tech Academy student and his mother are suing the Clark County School District, accusing officials of failing to take adequate action when the minor was allegedly threatened with death in an Instagram group chat.

The lawsuit, filed Jan. 14, says the minor plaintiff was added to an Instagram chat last August where three other students were making “disturbing comments” about his weight and sexual orientation, as well as graphically describing how they would paralyze and murder him. The three other minors and their parents are also named as defendants.

According to the complaint, the students described in the messages how they would get away with the murder, including changing their clothes and driving the plaintiff’s body to the desert, where they would “bury him beneath the 15th cactus.”

“Additionally, multiple comments were made by the student defendants indicating that the plaintiff should commit suicide,” the complaint states.

The lawsuit names the CCSD as a defendant, alleging that little was done to investigate the threats or take action against the students named in the complaint. It states the students were allowed to continue attending school with the plaintiff, and to come into close proximity to him, despite a protective order the plaintiff’s family obtained.

The plaintiff’s mother brought the messages to the attention of the West Tech dean of students Aug. 20, as well as to CCSD police officer Matthew Shatto, to document them in case of future issues, the lawsuit says.

According to a CCSD police incident report from Shatto included with the lawsuit, Shatto spoke to one of the students the next day, describing the individual, whose name was redacted by the district, as “very apologetic.” Shatto requested that the case be closed, with no criminal charges at the time.

“(Redacted) said his comments were wrong and he only intended them to be in a joking manner,” the report says.

The families of the defendants did not return requests for comment. Attorney Patrick Kang, who represents the plaintiffs, also did not return a request for comment. The school district said it does not comment on pending litigation.

The lawsuit states the plaintiff suffered mental and emotional harm as a result of the defendants’ actions. It asks for punitive damages in addition to attorneys’ fees and medical costs.

Contact Aleksandra Appleton at 702-383-0218 or aappleton@reviewjournal.com. Follow @aleksappleton on Twitter.