East Chicago police honor students who reported teacher accused of having 'kill list'
EAST CHICAGO, Ind. (CBS) -- Nearly a month after a teacher was arrest for having a so-called "kill list" at a school in East Chicago, Indiana, the police there are recognizing two of the students who helped put a stop to her.
"We find it heroic, because how difficult is that for two children to have to speak up against someone they trust - and were actually threatened by that one person?" said East Chicago Police Chief Jose Rivera.
Last month, teacher Angelica Carrasquillo-Torres, 25 – a teacher at St. Stanislaus School in East Chicago – was charged with felony intimidation.
East Chicago police said after students and a counselor reported the threats to the principal, and the teacher was immediately escorted to the principal's office to discuss the matter. Carrasquillo-Torres allegedly admitted to making the comment and confirmed she had a "kill list," police said.
In the days since Carrasquillo-Torres was arrested, the East Chicago Police Department has received national attention – mostly focused on the teacher.
But the East Chicago police want to flip the script by honoring the two students who reported the teacher's alleged actions.
CBS 2's Jermont Terry spoke to one of those students, fifth-grader Portia Jones, after everything went down.
"She said that she wanted to kill her middle school friends, her high school friends, and half of her family," Portia said.
River said he wants people to focus less on the teacher and more on the two students who did something good. They were presented with the department's Heroism Award at a ceremony on Friday.