Imani Christian Academy announced a temporary shutdown last Thursday due to a "shooter threat." Officials said there was an ongoing investigation of the incident.
"Attention Imani family. Imani Christian Academy will be closed on Thursday, April 28th due to a shooter threat. Police are actively investigating the incident. Testing will resume on Friday. Thank you," school officials posted on Facebook.
CBS Pittsburgh reported that school officials received the threat via email without any specific information regarding the date or time. Police said the school had requested additional police officers to patrol until the school day finished yet they decided to close the school for the day instead.
Pittsburgh Public Safety spokesperson Cara Cruz said that the school's CEO reported the shooting threat on Wednesday evening, The Christian Post reported. Cruz assured continuous monitoring of the situation if the school would decide to re-open on Friday.
According to the Imani Christian Academy website, the school was founded in 1993, serving as a faith-based alternative school for low-income communities. From 30 students, the academy now serves 152 students from pre-kindergarten through grade 12 in Pittsburgh's East Hills.
Most of their students comprise African American inner-city youth, and many came from single-parent homes or were being raised by a grandparent or guardian.
The school has been regarded by the students as their "second home." The building, which features an architectural design "Brutalism," was constructed by famed Pittsburgh architect Tasso Katselas in 1972 and served as the former East Hills Elementary School for 34 years before being shuttered for 4 years.
Its operation went back when the Imani Christian Academy acquired the property in 2010. The CEO & Head of School at Imani Christian Academy Paulo Nzambi wrote, "The building looks and feels like it could withstand anything. And so, the building's indomitable nature manifests the indomitable spirit of the African American experience. Like the building itself, the students, their families, and their ancestors have endured a great deal, but remain unwilling to surrender to forces of inequality and discrimination."
"As a second home for students and as a place where the mission of education is pursued with vigor, the building itself serves as an inspirational reminder that serving those less fortunate requires an unrelenting commitment and indeed an indomitable spirit," he continued.
According to CP, the shooting threat re-surfaced over three years after a mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue, nearby Squirrel Hill neighborhood which was a 15-minute drive from Imani Christian Academy. The October 2018 attack on the synagogue resulted in the death of 11 people, including the perpetrator, and seven people were injured.
The Education Week has been tracking school shooting incidents for the past five years. There had been recorded 23 school shooting incidents this 2022. In those incidents, 6 people were killed, including 5 students or other children and 1 school employee or other adults, and 36 people were injured.
Education Week noted that "Those statistics are used to fuel ongoing debates about gun control, arming teachers, and school security."
