Content Warning: Violent threats against a trans child below.

An entire school district in Oklahoma is closed until Wednesday, after a group of parents posted horrifying, violent threats against a 12-year-old transgender child on Facebook.

The graphic remarks were posted to a Facebook group for parents in the Achille ISD school district, and included plans to attack the child with a knife and have her beaten up by other kids at the school — all because the child used the girls’ restroom once, on the first day of seventh grade. The group is private, but concerned Facebook users took screenshots of the threats and reposted them on the official school district page.

Facebook/Achille ISD Facebook

The adults referred to the 12-year-old as “it,” a “maggot,” and a “thing” in some of the posts. One post referred to a “queer teacher” at the school, saying “this is even worse.” The most violent post called for “a good sharp knife [to] do the job really quick.”

“We are putting in extra measures to help safeguard our students,” says Achille ISD Superintendent Rick Beene. “We appreciate all the concern for our Achille students. Our school is shut down until Wednesday for safety precautions. While I will not go into specifics, we have increased security.”

According to local news station KXII, the 12-year-old student, Maddie (whose last name has been withheld to protect her privacy), and her parents have left their home and are staying at a secure location out of fear for their safety.

Maddie’s mother Brandy filed a restraining order against one of the parents — Burney Crenshaw — who she believed was leading the charge to harm her daughter. The mother told KXII that Maddie has identified as a girl since fifth grade, and typically uses the staff bathroom. But she says she was “confused” on the first day of school this year, and used the girls bathroom that day.

There are two schools in Achille: an elementary school and a high school. Maddie attends the elementary school, but both schools are closed until Wednesday.

Beene says most of the people who posted threats to harm Maddie are not actually residents of the school district, which is about two hours south of Oklahoma City and just over an hour away from Dallas, Texas. Beene also noted the Achille ISD parent group on Facebook, in which the threats were posted, is not connected to the school in any official way.

“Achille Public Schools and administration believe everyone should receive a safe and free education,” says Beene. “We have a very talented staff that cares about each and every student. We remain one of the few small Oklahoma schools to have a resource officer and have had [one] for the last several years.”

Local advocates say they’re concerned for the safety of Maddie and her family, and that they also want the school district to make a strong statement in support of LGBTQ+ students.

Lisa DelCol is a board member at PFLAG Oklahoma City and the parent of a 17-year-old transgender teen. She says that while Oklahoma is full of good people, when it comes to LGBTQ+ equality, “we have a long way to go.”

“I know there are a lot of kids struggling,” DelCol says. “Our homeless youth population here — a good chunk is LGBTQ+ kids who have been kicked out by their families.”

DelCol found out about the threats in Achille from another PFLAG parent who sent out a text. It reignited her own worst fears as the parent of a trans child.