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A Longmont parent asked the St. Vrain Valley School District to address what she described as escalating gang violence at Skyline High School.
During public comment to the school board on Wednesday, Brooke Lazzari, a mother of a student at Skyline, said she has observed increases in violence and harassment at the school from students self-identifying as members of a gang.
Her comments were spurred by the drive-by shooting that killed a 13-year-old boy and injured a 15-year-old boy on Saturday in Longmont. According to the arrest affidavit of the alleged shooter, Yahir Solis, the shooting may have been related to a dispute between two gangs known as “PBG” and “ESL.”
Longmont police said they are still working to determine what role, if any, gangs played in the shooting.
During his regular update to the board, Superintendent Don Haddad addressed the shooting, saying that the district will continue to monitor the situation and others through continued communication with local law enforcement.
“Beyond that, we’ll just wait and see what additional information comes our way,” Haddad said.
He also highlighted the investment St. Vrain has put into school resource officers to ensure their presence in district schools.
According to Lazzari, near the end of last school year, her son ended up in an altercation with a member of a gang. She felt that the administration did not take the escalations seriously or clearly communicate about the presence of gangs in the high school.
“Here we are, barely a week into the new year, and an incredibly tragic and senseless act of violence is tainting this community we all love dearly,” Lazzari said.
