
An Indiana mother faces charges after allegedly bringing a gun to her daughter’s elementary school and sending threatening messages to the sixth-grade teacher following a disagreement over a classroom assignment.
Carrie Rivers, 48, was arrested and charged with possession of a firearm on school property and harassment related to an incident at Valley Mills Elementary School in Indianapolis.
According to the arrest affidavit, Rivers confronted her daughter’s teacher about “a work assignment that had to do with same-sex relationships.” When Decatur Township School Police officers responded to a call about an “irate parent,” they noticed Rivers had what appeared to be a firearm on her waistband.
Officer Tabetha Emenaker stated in the affidavit that upon removing the weapon, “Carrie Rivers stated that she did have a gun.” The officer informed Rivers that having a firearm on school grounds was illegal, to which Rivers reportedly responded that “she didn’t even realize that she had it on because she is so used to wearing it and has been on school property with it before.”
Rivers initially left after telling police she planned to withdraw her daughter from homeschooling. However, 25 minutes later, she allegedly sent threatening messages to the teacher, stating, “God will condemn you to hell,” calling her “a child predator,” and telling her to “say your prayers and kiss your kids goodbye and goodnight; you never know when God says it’s our time, so be prepared.”
The teacher, who keeps a photo of her wife and daughter on her desk, explained to police that the assignment involved flags, and while showing examples of country flags, she referenced a rainbow flag in the classroom with the words “be kind” on it. Rivers had accused the teacher of “trying to push her agenda regarding sexuality on her daughter,” though the teacher noted she had allowed Rivers’ daughter to skip the assignment.
Leon Rivers, the suspect’s husband, defended his wife, saying she carries a firearm for “security around all the time” and “forgot to leave it” behind when “rushing in” to school. He claimed other parents “bring guns into the school all the time, just to drop kids off.”
The Metropolitan School District of Decatur Township released a statement confirming Rivers is now banned from campus: “No threats were made against students or staff at that time. The police suspected that the parent had possession of a concealed handgun on her person and escorted her out of the building. At that point, they took possession of the weapon from the parent without incident outside the school.”
The district added, “After the incident, it came to our attention that the parent sent harassing and threatening messages to her child’s teacher. A warrant was filed for her arrest, and she is not permitted on any Decatur Township school property. We are committed to ensuring a safe learning environment for students and staff and are grateful for the quick action of the office staff and school police in handling the situation safely.”
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