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Cheerleading activities at Rainier Beach High School have been suspended until further notice after two incidents at the school last week.
According to a police report, a parent of a cheerleader came to the school Nov. 14 and threatened other cheerleaders.
The police report says, "She told them to stop messing with her daughter or someone would come to the school and mess with them."
The cheerleaders told police the parent threatened to get a gun from her car or to have her brother come back with a gun.
The cheerleaders reported the incident to the school; the school called police.
On Nov. 15, there was a fight between two cheerleaders and other students, according to witnesses.
A parent of a student involved in the fight told KIRO 7 she was at the school to pick up her daughter for an appointment.
According to the police report, she said, "I'm gonna (expletive) this school up. It's gonna get gangster in here. I'm gonna shut this mother (expletive) down."
That parent told KIRO 7 she was reacting to her daughter being punched in the face by a boy who doesn't even attend the school, but was in the hallway at Rainier Beach that day.
She said the fight centered around accusations of bullying; her daughter is not a cheerleader.
Police located and arrested the female suspect for harassment, and she was booked into the King County Jail, and later released.
Parents of other cheerleaders told KIRO 7 that the school told all of the cheerleaders to stay home from school last Thursday and Friday.
On Monday, some parents were called and told cheerleading activities would be suspended until further notice due to safety concerns.
The state semi-finals football game between Rainier Beach High School and Garfield is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday at Pop Keeney Field in Bothell.
The cheerleaders are not allowed to cheer; they are allowed to go to the game but will have to pay admission.
Parents tell KIRO 7 they don't feel they're getting clear communication from the district and while some are concerned about safety, they're more frustrated the entire squad is being penalized for the incidents that only involved a few of them.
The principal of Rainier Beach High School, Keith Smith, issued a statement on Wednesday: “Rainier Beach is a community of students, families and staff who care about each other and put student safety at the forefront of our decisions. In the last few weeks, the cheer squad has been at the center of a conflict involving members of the school and broader community. While an investigation by the Seattle Police Department is ongoing and issues remain unresolved, we have decided to suspend cheerleading activities, including practices and cheering at games. In these times, it’s our role to take extra precautions to support all of our students.”
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