TACOMA, Wash. — A Tacoma mother says she is pulling her son out of public school and enrolling him online due to safety concerns connected to the Kia Boyz.
The group made up of kids and young adults has been stealing cars and threatening people with guns in Tacoma, including several times this school year at Hilltop Heritage Middle School.
Most recently, the school had to be locked down twice in one day after the group came to the school and drove recklessly outside. Tacoma police said the Kia Boyz pointed a gun and threatened to shoot a Tacoma Public Schools patrol officer.
“These children are being traumatized by having to deal with this,” said Jami Visaya, whose son had attended Hilltop Heritage.
Visaya said these young people need to be held accountable as the group is causing major safety concerns.
“Has law enforcement done enough? No, absolutely not,” said Visaya. “Because these are minor children in stolen cars stating their names on social media and pretty much asking to be caught and they're not stopped.”
Visaya worries about what could happen if the group is not stopped.
“Accidents and, God forbid, deaths happen all the time, and I feel like it's just a matter of time,” said Visaya.
That’s why, this past Monday, she decided to pull her son from Hilltop Heritage and switch him to online school, where he will start in just a few days.
“I decided to do this last week because of the extremely unsafe situation at Hilltop Heritage right now,” said Visaya.
She said there are other parents making this choice, too, due to safety concerns.
“So, I actually met another mother who her daughter is a sixth grader at Hilltop Heritage, and she was doing the same thing,” said Visaya.
KING 5 reached out to Tacoma Public Schools about parents going to these lengths to keep their kids safe. The district sent the following statement:
“Parents are the primary caregivers of their children. We respect the complexities of that role and support families in making decisions that are best for their children. We offer many types of school environments because we understand a one-size-fits-all approach to education doesn’t work for all families
We partner with families and we take the safety of their children and the adults we hire to educate and support them very seriously. Creating safe and enriching school environments is a critical part of the learning process. And while we cannot control what happens outside of our school walls, we can do our very best every day to maintain safety inside. Our educators are highly trained, skilled, and dedicated to our students
Sometimes activities outside our buildings impact our schools, which is why our partnership with Tacoma Police Department is so important. When a situation warrants school staff call TPD, they respond and investigate crimes. As part of our See Something, Say Something partnership, the Tacoma Police Department has committed to immediately following up on any reports of threats against any of our schools. We encourage anyone who sees or hears a threat to a school to call 9-1-1. Keeping our schools and community safe takes all of us working together.
The incidents of car theft and erratic driving are not isolated to Hilltop Heritage. They are occurring throughout our community, our county, and even other states as a result of a social media trend. Tacoma Public Schools is committed to working with families and our community to lessen the effects of this trend and support young people so they can continue to learn and thrive.”
Visaya said she doesn’t blame the school district and feels like the district’s hands are tied, but said something needs to be done.
“We have just as much right as any neighborhood or any city to have our students go to school and learn and to be free from the fear of being shot,” said Visaya.