DES MOINES, Iowa -- A high school in Ottumwa stepped up its security Tuesday after a hit list was found.
A janitor at Ottumwa High School found a note labeled "People to kill," listing 13 students' names. Officials said the anonymous note threatens to kill the students, along with him or herself.
Some of the students named know each other, but there does not appear to be any links between the students on the list.
Wayne Goodvin said his son was on the list.
School continued at the high school Tuesday with six police officers patrolling the hallways.
"In these post-Columbine days, you can't look at such notes anymore and ignore them," Principal Steve Hanson said.
The hand-written list also included notes along the bottom that read, "All my life I was sad, now I will show the world who I am," and "Be inconspicuous."
Hanson said he does not know if the person responsible will ever be found but hopes to get the writer help.
"We're treating it as the work of someone who is upset," Hanson said.
Student Joshua Hobbs told NewsChannel 8 he heard the list was supposed to be executed sometime Tuesday.
Alisha Venator, also a student, said she heard someone was planning to bring guns to the school. Venator left school early Tuesday because her grandmother, Sandra Williams, said she took the threats seriously and felt it was safer that Venator stay home.
Wayne Goodvin's son is on the list, and he said his son will be absent from school the rest of the week.
Goodvin said the note cannot be taken too lightly and that the child is reaching out for help with his note.
Officials are investigating the legitimacy of the list and trying to find the author. Extra police presence will continue at the high school until the case is solved.
Obviously, this is a serious issue and we need to put some officials in charge of looking into the safety and security of public-schooled students everywhere.
/tongue in cheek
Actually, this is a scary thing and I'm glad a janitor was on the ball with this one. Hopefully it circumvented something really, really ugly.
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