A fifth-grade teacher in East Chicago was arrested by police after admitting to one of her students that she had put together a “kill list”.
Angelica Carrasquillo-Torres, 25 of Griffith, IN, a fifth-grade teacher at St. Stanislaus School in East Chicago, IN, was taken into police custody after it was determined that she made threatening comments to a student. She faces one count of felony intimidation.
One of Torres’s students had shared with their counselor that she made comments to the student about killing herself, students, and other staff members of the school. The teacher elaborated on a kill list that she had put together and that the student’s name appeared on the bottom of the list.
Torres was escorted to the principal’s office to discuss the allegations. “During the conversation, the teacher named a specific student on her list, but did not provide the list,” authorities confirmed. “The principal then advised the teacher to leave and not return to school pending an investigation.”
Torres was allowed to leave the school grounds freely. School officials did not report the incident to the East Chicago Police Department until four hours later. The Criminal Investigation Department then obtained an emergency detention order from the Lake County Prosecutors’ office. Torres was taken into custody at 11:15 the next day. An investigation into the incident is ongoing.
The school released the following statement: “It is with great sadness that we share the following statement. On Wednesday, October 12, at approximately 12:45 p.m., the staff at St. Stanislaus School responded to a concerning report from a student regarding comments made by the student’s teacher. The teacher was removed from the classroom and escorted to the principal’s office, where she remained under supervision and had no further contact with students. The teacher was interviewed to further identify the details of the incident,” the statement said. “After students were safely dismissed at the end of the school day, the teacher was escorted off campus and the East Chicago police department was notified at approximately 4:45 p.m. When asked, the police assured the principal that the facility was safe and that they could proceed normally with all scheduled learning and school events for the next school day.”
It is not known whether or not the suspect has retained legal representation.
