St. Stanislaus parents demand answers after East Chicago teacher charged for having 'kill list'

EAST CHICAGO, Ind. (WLS) -- In East Chicago, there was anger and outrage at a meeting of Catholic school parents and students.

The gathering happened less than a week after a teacher at St. Stanislaus School was arrested and charged with felony intimidation. She allegedly told a student and administrators she had a so-called "kill list."

"The police should have been notified first, and then we should have been notified that our children were in harm's way," said Ashley Rios, the parent of a St. Stanislaus student.

SEE ALSO | East Chicago teacher charged after having alleged 'kill list' of students' names, records say

Court papers show 25-year-old Angelica Carrasquillo was removed from her classroom last Wednesday after a student went to administrators. Carrasquillo then allegedly told a school official, "I want to kill myself, staff and students, and I did also make a kill list."

Still, administrators waited four hours after the initial report to call police and allowed Carrasquillo to leave the school first. She was arrested the next day at her home.

"If we would've been able to question her at the school, we would have been able to search her classroom with the permission of the school to see if the list is, in fact, at the school, if there's any weapons in her classroom, if she has a locker," said East Chicago Police Department Chief Jose Rivera.

Police said Carrasquillo is in a medical facility, but remains in custody. Police have not been able to question her or obtain a warrant to search her residence.

"She could've taken the evidence with her, so that's why it was very important to call us at the moment during that interview with her with the principal," Rivera said.

On Monday, the Diocese of Gary, which runs the school, said it's cooperating with authorities and continues to review the incident.

"They could've used the text message system. They could've used the phone system to contact us to let us know what is going on," said Evelyn Taylor, the parent of St. Stanislaus students.

School administrators did not attend the meeting, though organizers said they were invited.

Last week, administrators said the safety of students and staff is a top priority. Parents are now demanding a direct meeting with school officials.