Oakland community disturbed after two noose sightings near elementary schools

An Oakland community wants answers after two disturbing incidents where a noose was found on separate occasions outside of an elementary school.

An Oakland community wants answers after two disturbing incidents where a noose was found on separate occasions outside of an elementary school.

An Oakland community wants answers after two disturbing incidents where a noose was found on separate occasions outside of an elementary school.

First on Aug. 21, it was reported by a parent that a child found a noose on the floor near Chabot Elementary School and threw it on a fence. The police reportedly chalked up that occurrence as “an accident.”

Then on Sept. 6, another rope, resembling a noose, was reportedly found hanging on a batting cage on the side of the school, ABC 7 reports.

“You hear the chatter in the neighborhood and I think everyone is a little on edge,” said Oakland resident, Jason Dobert.

“It has really set our community on edge. It has really brought up all these harsh emotions from a lot of people rightfully so. A noose is a symbol of the hatred and the ugly history that we have in America,” said Oakland Unified School District‘s spokesperson, John Sasaki.

“We did hear one individual who said they thought maybe that rope was put there by some teenagers who like to climb on top of the batting cages to hang out,” said Sasaki.

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Parents have complained saying the noose sightings have made community members feel uncomfortable and especially those who frequent the Chabot Recreation Area, the site of the second noose.

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“We don’t have too many issues going on here and everybody seems pretty neighborly and nice. It’s definitely concerning considering that this is an elementary school with children,” said Dobert.

According to the Oakland Unified School District, the incident hasn’t been designated as a hate crime. The FBI has reportedly been contacted to investigate.

“We’ve been offering extra support and mental health support for anyone that has been stressed by this whole thing and also this coming week we’re going to have more police patrols at the school,” said Sasaki.

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