"It literally said at the top in big letters, 'kill list.' So it's scary," Noah Ludlow, 12, said.
Pace thought he was being nice when he invited a new classmate, who doesn't speak the best English, to sit at lunch with Noah and his friends. But then Noah saw what the student had written in his notebook.
"I look over and there's a bunch of names and one of them is my first name and I say, 'Is that me?' He goes yeah and he had illustration for each one how he was gonna kill each one," Pace said.
He says he saw 20 names in all. He told a teacher at /*Southold Junior Senior High School*/. Administrators say they quickly notified police, who removed the 12-year-old for an interview and a medical examination. Even though he's been suspended from school, investigators declined to file criminal charges.
"Usually it turns criminal when it is a direct threat from one person to another person and at this point I don't think our investigation has leaned towards any direct threats being made," police said.
In fact, school administrators say they're convinced the student who wrote the list didn't actually understand what it meant when he drew it up. Still, Superintendent David Gamberg says they haven't taken it lightly, suspending the student who may not be allowed back.
"We take all of these matters - anything that approaches anything like this is taken seriously and should be taken seriously," Gamberg said.
But not seriously enough for Noah's mom, who has chosen to home school her son until she knows for sure his classmate isn't coming back.
"The child has instilled fear in students in the place they're supposed to feel safe," she said.
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