But yes... the bullies are the ones that should be punished. Not the victim. (JMHO)

This is a situation where punishing the victim is like treating a symptom... the cause of the problem is still an issue. The bully still needs to be dealt with.

Normally, a death threat should be reported to the police, and perhaps it still should be, but this is such a delicate case that nobody (one would hope) would want the victim to get in serious trouble for what may have been a knee-jerk response while the bully gets away with whatever he's been doing to cause such a strong response.

The other thing, is that I personally don't think most kids would say that unless they've been pushed to the edge or been pushed so many times they may really feel that way.

The whole thing needs to be carefully handled and taken care of. The bully needs to be dealt with seriously, and the victim needs to be taught how to cope with what's been happening and perhaps even seek counseling.

Well put, Child_Of_Ra.

Child of Ra,
That's what I meant to say... If i was articulate!
Well said!

Thank you. I don't always say things correctly, but this time I didn't mince my words. :-)

In these times in which we live, the words "I will kill you" Cannot be said. No matter what the circumstance - those words even from a child's mouth are now seen as threateningly dangerous. Once said, those words set into action a chain of events that will usually include the police regardless of the age of the child who said it.
Should it be that way? That's another question entirely but that it has become that way is beyond question. In these times, those words place a responsibility onto principals to respond in a very structured and defined way.
I'm very sorry for the situation that's brought you to this question and I hope this resolves for your child quickly and smoothly.

Interesting topic as I just spoke with a parent this past month whose child had been bullied both in person and over the internet in what has now been termed, cyberbullying. My coaching to the parent in this case was to bring the bullying incident to both the school administration and the local law enforcement agency. States differ on their legal policies regarding bullying and cyberbullying but many are now treating both with increasingly serious ramifications including time in a juvenile facility. Threats that use the words, "I will kill you" should be reported immediately to both the school and police department. Filing a police report creates a paper trail that can resurface should any violence occur.

Joe Bruzzese

I do not think the child should be arrested...intervention or counseling would probably be beneficial for the student at this point....It seems to me the child may have been frustrated and used the most effective way of getting the bully to back off...even though it was harsh it should be taken seriously...bullying should be nipped in the bud before it blooms or grows into an incident that may result in an unfavorable ending. Protect the victim before they get fed up and take the situation in their own hands.

I have a son who was bullied. The school was informed many times. I got the same answer each time "We don't tolerate bullying". The fact was, they did. Saying something but doing nothing has one result, the bullying keeps on. My son would report to the playgound monitor that this child was picking on him or pushing him and the monitor would say "so-and-so stop that". He complained that the bully would go right back to picking on him as soon as the monitor walked away. He was even attacked across the street walking home from school and they did nothing because it wasn't on school grounds. But yet when he defended himself at a bus stop the next year the school wanted to suspend him claiming they had authority over him no matter where he was. Too often schools do nothing or very little and when the child being bullyed fights back, they are the ones punished. This happens all too often