Violent, racist African immigrants

2009 - Racial tensions at Owatonna High School have the police pulling extra security duty and some parents extremely worried.

A group of concerned parents met with the school superintendent Thursday, while many students stayed home, too afraid to go to school.

It was hard to miss the four police cars outside Owatonna High School Thursday, as well as a fifth car patrolling the neighborhood.

The precautions, a result of increased racial tensions between Somali students and white students.

"Certainly this is an issue that sprung from some racist comments that had been made," says Owatonna School Superintendent Dr. Tom Tapper.

Tapper, says educators met with the entire student body today to talk about the problems, but some students, citing recent fights and alleged threats, stayed home.

One student, who does not want to be identified, says she and her parents were afraid of what might happen.

"There's tons of kids and they've posted all over the internet saying they're not going to school and they're just scared to go to school.

Another student, who also did not want to be identified, stayed home as well.

She says things got pretty ugly at the school earlier this week.

"Monday, there was 20 Somalians who gang beat one senior and two of his friends jumped in with him. And the one that they jumped, he ended up in the hospital," she says.

That student's mother was one of the parents who met with the Superintendent and the Chief of Police for nearly two hours this afternoon.

The Superintendent says they talked about ideas on how to move forward, but he declined to give any specifics.

"Well, we're doing everything we can to make sure that everybody is safe within in our school," says Tapper.

And for the moment, that includes keeping an increased police presence at the high school until at least Thanksgiving break.

The superintendent does say whatever the solutions is, it will likely involve all the students as well as members of the community.