A disturbing image of a rope hanging from a fence at an East Bay school has some parents outraged.

The rope was found early Wednesday morning at Chabot Elementary in Oakland before school was in session and some say it resembles a noose.

"Most nooses are ropes. So it looked like a rope but it also looked like it was used to send a message or for some sort of intimidation," said parent Keita Jones.

Oakland Unified School District Spokesman John Sasaki said, "We certainly hope that's not what it was; if it was we're going to deal with it."

The principal of Chabot Elementary addressed the incident in an email sent to parents that read, "The way it was placed could have been a coincidence, but it also could have been indicative of something more disturbing. It was easy to see the rope as a message that harkens back to some of our nation’s darkest history.”

Parent Courtney Jones, says the email was vague.


"I feel like the email is trying to not really acknowledge the issue," Jones said. "There are several points in the email where she refers to it as a rope. If you look at the issue it's clearly not a rope."

"It is entirely possible it’s a noose. It is also entirely possible it was not a noose," Sasaki said. "It was so haphazardly tossed on this fence, that we don't know what it was."

School officials said they don't know who placed the rope for or why. However, they had additional staff on hand to discuss the incident with students. The school stressed the rope was removed well before students arrived.

"One thing I do hope is that this situation is addressed accordingly and that my daughters don't have to worry about being in danger," said Keita Jones.



School officials plan to discuss the incident at a meeting next week. They also said police are investigating.