Updated 12:32 AM Friday, May 1, 2009

HAMILTON — A third-grader was expelled from a local private school after a “hit list” of students and a teacher was found in his desk.

A menacing report was filed Tuesday, April 28, with the Hamilton Police Department indicating that a student at Immanuel Lutheran School, 1285 Main St., had written down names of students and a teacher that he apparently wanted to kill.

Michael Mayo, the school’s principal, said he acted on a tip and found the list in the student’s desk. The student has been removed permanently from the school, Mayo said.

“We never believed for a second that people were truly in danger,” Mayo said. “But this sort of thing in this day and age, you just can’t do that. It will never be acceptable.”

The children and their parents were notified about the threats. Mayo said the student was troubled and had received counseling in the past.

“We still care for this person and we are in constant prayer, for that person now,” Mayo said.

Hamilton police are investigating the incident, but no charges have been filed at this time, said Hamilton police spokesman Rich Burkhardt.

Immanuel Lutheran Church provides education for children in preschool through eighth grade, with class sizes of about 22 students, according to its Web site. Mayo said the school has an enrollment of 125 students of mostly preschoolers.

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