KETTERING — A lone protestor caused concern and panic at Kettering Fairmont High School as students headed into class Tuesday morning.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, the man was on the public sidewalk along Shroyer Road, in front of the high school, using a megaphone to protest.
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Parents said their students already worry about shootings, bomb threats, and unrest, so this doesn’t help.
Pictures and videos taken by the parents showed the man standing just outside the high school’s main entrance in a t-shirt reading “Most Muslims are terrorists.”
“What is he saying? Does he hate me? Why is he here? Who’s coming with him? And he immediately went into a state of panic,” Jessica East, a parent, said.
East told News Center 7 that one of her children nearly had a panic attack.
She calmed her child down and went to talk to the protestor about his message.
In a video captured by East, she is heard saying, “And it’s words and that’s fine but it puts kids, who have to worry about school shootings, in a really, real place of anxiety.”
East and a couple of the students’ fathers stood next to the man, vowing not to leave until he did.
According to the Kettering Police Department, the school resource officer watched the protestor the entire time he was there and made sure nothing escalated.
Kettering City Schools said school and district administrators were also on-site monitoring the situation.
“No threats or language, potentially inciting violence, was reported to have been made. The male eventually relocated to the sidewalk along the east side of Shroyer Road before leaving the area,” the department said.
Police said students were able to get inside the building safely and the man eventually left.
“Jesus said you have two hands and two feet, go and serve. He didn’t say go and yell at people. I said that to him and he didn’t respond to that either,” East said.
The department said since there were no threats or inciting of violence, the man did not violate any city ordinance as he exercised his First Amendment rights.
The district asks parents to reach out to their child’s principal or school counselor if they need assistance.
“We commend our students for their maturity and composure as they entered FHS this morning,” the district said.
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