LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Concerns linger for Jefferson County Public School (JCPS) parents following a viral Facebook post showing a man boarding a school bus on Aug. 26, and then berating the young children onboard.
As JCPS Security and Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) investigate parents remain anxious, especially the mother of the young girl those threats were directed at.
"What would he have done to my baby?" JCPS mother Angel Clay said. "Cause you was trying pretty hard to get at her. If [the bus driver] didn't hold you back, what harm was you trying to do?"
The man seen in that video yelling at students is Delvantae King, the father of a 10-year-old JCPS student. He told WHAS11 he's sorry for his actions, adding he got on the bus to defend his daughter who he said was allegedly getting bullied.
In a letter sent to parents, Carter Elementary School Principal Jamie Wyman said the incident took place on bus number 2047. She said while at a bus stop, King and a girl stepped on the bus and began threatening students.
"I'll flip this whole bus with everybody on it and I mean that, I mean that," King said in the video. "That goes for everybody on here, touch my daughter again and I'll flip this whole bus."
The bus driver ushered the two people off the bus, but they got into a vehicle and began following the bus, Wyman said. Students reported seeing the people in the vehicle display a gun, while following the school bus.
In the video, children can be heard screaming and crying as King curses and berates them. At one point, the young girl tries climbing over a seat to get to students, but the driver keeps her back.
JCPS Security and LMPD were notified, Wyman said, and the bus driver was told to bring the bus back to Carter Elementary without stopping. Students were told to wait on the bus until security arrived.
WHAS11 contacted JCPS Thursday, looking for an update, but were told they couldn't provide one, citing the investigation remains active.
WHAS11 also reached out to the Kentucky Department of Education, asking them the following question: is it against federal or state law to illegally or forcefully board a school bus?
According to Jennifer Ginn, the assistant director of the state health department's Division of Communication, it could be.
"An event like this most likely would fall under KRS 508.078," she said. "The school bus is considered school property and an extension of the classroom, so the same rules apply to buses as they do to school buildings."
The aforementioned law terroristic threatening in the second degree defines a person as guilty if they threaten to commit an act likely to result in someone's death or serious physical injury while in certain public settings including school functions.
With this information, WHAS11 reached out to JCPS again, asking if they're looking into bringing charges against Delvantae King under this statue, to which they responded they're, "looking possible criminal charges."
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