Tempers boiled over Wednesday as Vista High School students rallied in response to an alleged locker room assault involving football players that led to suspensions and discipline for some coaches, and was followed by a school shooting threat made by a player accused in the assault.
Footage of the alleged assault, which happened around two weeks ago, circulated on social media and led to rumors spreading across the school community. It shows student-athletes picking up a 14-year-old and carrying him into a room in the locker room and pushing him to the ground.
The incident was first reported to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department as a sexual assault, according to the department, but deputies say the alleged victim, a freshman, never made any sexual assault claims.
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The varsity head coach was put on leave while the SDSO, the Vista Unified School District and a third-party investigator look into the incident, according to Superintendent Matt Doyle. A freshman coach who was responsible for supervising the players in the locker room was fired , Doyle added.
Doyle told NBC 7 three players have been kicked off of the team, suspended from campus and could face expulsion for their part in the alleged assault, but the punishment wasn't enough for students and parents who rallied outside the school Wednesday evening.
"This is wrong. There should be no more football team," parent Lupe Trejo told NBC 7. "No more playing football for a while to teach them a lesson.
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"It wasn't correct, what happened to that kid and he deserves justice and he deserves someone to speak up for him," sophomore Bryan Sanchez said.
Deputies were on post at the school Wednesday in response to a shooting threat that surfaced on social media Tuesday night. Deputies confirmed the post included photos of one of the students being disciplined with a gun and threatening captions.
One post includes the caption “No face no case” over a photo of the student in a black facemask and backward baseball cap. Another shows him with what appears to be a handgun in his lap. The third picture is the mask with the caption: "Thinking about shooting up a guy," and the caption on the fourth picture states, “I can show you me shooting someone in the head.”
Deputies determined the shooting threat wasn't credible, in part because they couldn't determine if the student in the photos was the one who made the post or added the captions, according to Doyle. Investigators were also unable to determine if the handgun that appeared in the photos was real. That explanation wasn't enough to ease some parents' concerns.
"We want more security for our students and our family members because it's not safe," Karla Gonzalez said at the protest. "We want the victim to know that we're here and we're supporting him and we don't want this to ever happen to anyone."
Tempers nearly boiled over when a driver, who witnesses described as a football player, drove into the school parking lot near the protest. The crowd of demonstrators quickly surrounded his car and appeared to hit or kick his vehicle while he stayed inside.
In a letter to parents acknowledging the protest, Vista High Principal David Jaffe said there will be an increased law enforcement presence on campus through the end of the week.
Other parents at the protest told NBC 7 they want the district to step in and help make the school safer.
"Bring back the funding for the high school resource officers, don’t put it all on the staff," said parent Allen Newsome. "The staff isn’t necessarily trained to de-escalate certain situations and if they are it's not to the level of a resource officer."
Newsome shared with NBC 7 how he’s been frustrated overall with the district, and how he's advocating for change.
Doyle said that while Vista High does not have a School Resource Officer at this time, they have completed the process with the city of Vista and the sheriff's department to contract for one.
"I don’t think this should’ve happened, there's no place for violence and it's terrible," said Newsome. "But, when you're invested and kids feel safe certain things don’t happen."
Doyle canceled Wednesday night's Back to School Night and said ti will be rescheduled.
