Mother of West Bend Student Accused of Making a Bomb Threat Speaks to CBS 58

This afternoon we are continuing to learn more about the student accused of making a false a bomb threat at West Bend High School in West Bend. 

The mother of the student says her child acknowledges what they did was wrong and did it to try and avoid being bullied during lunch break. 

The family did not want to go on camera but did speak to us in an online conversation.  

The mother tells us that the student was being bullied and felt like they didn't have an outlet. 

She also wanted to make a point to us that she did not want to vilify bullies. She said they are all just kids trying to get by. 

She said to CBS 58 her daughter just didn't have the coping tools and is very tender-hearted and thus, takes it all to heart.

But with an increase in bomb threats and scares the issue of bullying has come up quite a bit lately. 

This morning I spoke with the advocate group generations against bullying. They have a number of resources designed to help make high school and the issue of bullying a lot easier for students across the state. 

They said this is a tough time for students. With more social media sites than ever before peer pressure is at its peak. 

They said the best thing for parents to do is to let your child know that you are there for them to listen. And also encourage them to speak with others about what may be going if they won't open up to you. 

They said that is crucial. 

They also told me sometimes it can be hard to tell what your child is going through but you can look for some signs that something isn't right. 

“You were going to find that your son or daughter's grades go down, they're withdrawn, they stay in the room a lot, have a lot of excuses they have a lot of excuses of being sick that they want to school, those are some of the symptoms. So watch for the symptoms and then just be empathetic as a parent,” said James Dean, public relations of Generations Against a Bullying.

CBS 58 reached out to the West Bend School district to see if they have any resources available to students but I was told they have no comment at this time. 


 

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