Chicago Public Schools student alleges teacher threatened her with gun
CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Chicago high school student said a female teacher threatened her with a gun in February.
Emily Lozano and her family are still looking for answers even as she prepares to graduate from George Washington High School in a matter of days.
"I froze. I was in a complete shock. I didn't know what to do," she recalled. "She had her finger on the trigger and pulled it out of her book bag. Yes, in class."
Lozano said the teacher had allegedly gotten into an argument with another student. The 17-year-old's teacher told her if she didn't take her side, she'd be in danger.
"I was like I'm not getting involved. That's when she decided to pull her gun out of her book bag and she said, 'I wish you all would keep messing with me,'" Lozano said.
"I was shocked," said her uncle Andy Houston. "Shocked that not only somebody put in a position of authority would be carrying a gun in school, but then constantly threatening children with it, that's unheard of."
Paralyzed with fear, Lozano said she brought the incident to the school's attention weeks later.
She said the school removed her from the teacher's class while they investigated. Incident reports detail the Department of Children and Family Services was notified on May 17.
Meanwhile, Lozano said the threats kept coming.
"Telling me that she knows where I live, she knows where my grandma lives, that she knows where my family lives because it's on my emergency forms," she said. "It's been reported multiple times. I can't walk through the hallways without being shoved by her, called a name by her."
Houston filed a police report Sunday. Officers were spotted at the school Monday morning with a police van to investigate.
Houston said they are now seeking a warrant for the teacher's arrest. If the state's attorney pursues the case, the teacher will be summoned to court.
"Where is this going to end? The end result of this is going to be somebody getting hurt, injured, possibly killed, and I hope in some small way we are doing our part to keep that from happening," Houston said.
The principal sent a letter to parents Monday afternoon, saying an investigation has been initiated by their Law Department. "The individual has been removed... during the course of the investigation," they wrote.
Full statement from Chicago Public Schools
The safety and well-being of our staff and students remains a top priority for Chicago Public Schools. The District has procedures in place to investigate allegations of staff misconduct, give proper due process to its employees, and make fair employment decisions.
As always, every incident or allegation of staff misconduct is referred to the appropriate investigative body for review, including the Office of Inspector General, the District's Law Department, the Equal Opportunity Compliance Office, or the Office of Student Protections. Staff members are typically removed from their positions during the course of an investigation if there is any potential threat to the safety or disruption to the educational environment. CPS, just like other employers, does not share the details of personnel matters or ongoing investigations as we are committed to protecting the privacy and rights of our employees and allowing an investigation to proceed without disruption. Such investigations take time and preclude us from providing ongoing and detailed updates.
