Authorities are investigating a staff member’s report of a “racist pipe bomb” found on an Inglewood elementary school campus, district officials told KTLA on Thursday.
Although the Inglewood Unified School District did not immediately provide an official recount of the events, a representative confirmed that the alleged incident occurred on Wednesday at Bennett-Kew School.
Najee Ali, a local civil rights activist and director of Project Islamic Hope, released a statement after speaking with the staff member who reported finding the device.
“On the morning of September 10th, Tammy Mosley an African American resource specialist at the school, went to her vehicle in the staff parking lot around 8:30 a.m. to retrieve supplies,” Ali said in the release. “She discovered the device placed behind her car. Unaware of what it was, but seeing the racial slur written on both sides, Mosley brought it into her office.”
Ali provided KTLA with an image of the device, which appeared to be made of at least five cylinder-shaped objects taped together, with the words “THE BIY N******” written in Sharpie on top, with the profane word underlined.
Mosley purportedly handed the device to her assistant, who then passed it on to the principal. According to Ali, the school’s principal did not take the matter as seriously as the other involved staff members expected her to.
“Shockingly, instead of contacting law enforcement or initiating a school lockdown to protect students and staff, [Principal Sarah] Appleton placed the device in her office and stated she ‘didn’t have time to deal with it,’” Ali said. KTLA has reached out to the school for comment.
Ali described the incident as “a direct threat of racial terrorism against an African American educator and the entire school community,” condemned the leadership’s response, and is now calling on state leaders to launch a hate crime investigation. According to his release, Mosley shared in those sentiments.
“I’m shocked and horrified that a racist makeshift bomb was discovered behind my car—and even more disturbed that it wasn’t taken seriously by the school principal,” read a quote that Ali attributed to Mosley. “This was not only an attack on me, but a threat to the safety of every child and staff member on campus. We need a full state investigation by Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office to ensure this never happens again.”
The school district stated that the matter had been reported to the Inglewood Police Department as of Thursday. Authorities did not immediately respond to KTLA’s request for comment.
“We are committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of our school community,” concluded the district’s statement.
Nidia Becerra and Rachel Menitoff contributed to this report.