A student at Chocksett Middle School in Sterling, Massachusetts, was suspended for three days after administrators discovered a notebook containing the names of classmates. The incident occurred on September 30, and while police and school officials investigated, they determined the notebook, inspired by the anime series Death Note, did not pose a legitimate threat.
Principal Tina Boss stated in a letter to the school community that the student explained the notebook's connection to the anime and that there was "no indication that the notebook or its contents were intended as a threat toward the school or any particular student." The Sterling Police Department confirmed they were not pursuing criminal charges. Despite this, police maintained a presence at the school for a period.
The Death Note manga and anime series features a supernatural notebook owned by shinigami, or gods of death. If a person's name is written in the notebook, that person will die. These notebooks are often sold as merchandise for fans.
Parents expressed concern over the handling of the situation. One mother, whose daughter's name was in the notebook, voiced her frustration on Facebook, questioning the safety plan that required her daughter to remain in the same classroom as the student who wrote her name.
This is not the first time a similar incident has occurred. In September 2024, a student's homemade 'Death Note' at an I Promise school in Akron, Ohio, also led to parental dissatisfaction regarding the school's response.