Watertown middle schooler says classmate sent 'threatening' Snapchat photo

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WATERTOWN, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A Jefferson County middle school student says she felt threatened by a message she received from a classmate.

Daijahna Carpenter stayed home from Riverside Middle School in Watertown Thursday out of fear for her safety.

A boy in her class had sent a photo showing another boy pointing a gun at the camera.

It was delivered via Snapchat, the popular social media app.

The image came as part of an exchange that started with a publicly-posted video of the boy with the gun saying the N-word.

Carpenter responded to say that was not OK.

“It's not just a word,” she said. It means something, and I feel like they should know that. I feel like they do know that, but they need to be put in their place for saying it."

Carpenter’s mother, Candice Reed, saw the photo with the gun as a clear threat.

"It hurts me as a mother to see her going through things like that,” Reed said.

Watertown police determined the gun was an Airsoft-style toy gun, and while the photo was “ill-advised”, there was “no known threat” to any person.

The school district superintendent, Cassandra Schug, sent a letter home to parents that said in part, "Please take advantage of this opportunity to discuss with your son/daughter the importance of using social media wisely. Inappropriate use of social media can cause unnecessary alarm, rumors, and consequences."

Reed thinks the school downplayed the situation.

"The fact that my child has to go to school and feel unsafe, I have a huge problem with that,” she said.

Police found nothing criminal with the Snapchat.

The district wouldn’t share if any disciplinary action was taken against the student.

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