A teacher in Dallas is under investigation for including mass shooter Kyle Rittenhouse in an assignment about heroes.
On Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020, the Dallas Independent School District issued an apology after a teacher at W.T. White High School gave students an assignment on the “hero for the modern age,” according to KTVT-TV.
Students were asked to write an essay about individuals and given several possible options, such as Mahatma Gandhi, César Chávez, Malcolm X, George Floyd and Joseph Rosenbaum, a man Rittenhouse is accused of killing in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The teacher, who has yet to be identified, also added Rittenhouse to the list.
On Tuesday, Aug. 25, Rittenhouse, 17, drove from Illinois to Kenosha armed with an assault rifle and entered an area where Black Lives Matter protesters had gathered. Before the shooting, a video emerged of Rittenhouse speaking to police officers who offered him bottled water. They never checked his ID or checked to see if he held a gun license. It was later determined that Rittenhouse’s gun was illegal.
Moments later, Rittenhouse used the AR-15 to shoot someone in the head as video captured him running away from the scene while on a cellphone saying, “I just killed someone.” Protesters attempted to apprehend Rittenhouse, but he fired more rounds, allegedly killing another person, who was shot in the chest. He reportedly shot another person in the arm, and video showed that man missing a large piece of his bicep, bleeding profusely and screaming.
Another video captured Rittenhouse walking past police officers with his AR-15 before leaving the scene without being arrested. Rittenhouse has since been arrested and charged with first-degree homicide and one count of attempted homicide.
In a statement to parents and students, the Dallas Independent School District said, “An unapproved assignment posted in Google Classroom yesterday has been brought to our attention. Understandably, this caused some concern for the impacted students, and we apologize. Campus administration immediately removed the unapproved content and students are not required to complete that assignment. Due to personnel policies, we are not able to comment further, however, the appropriate steps are being followed pending investigation.”
