Teacher Allegedly Threatened to ‘Burn Alive’ Boss in Pay Raise Demand

Authorities arrested a north Texas teacher and charged him with making a terroristic threat after he allegedly threatened to “burn alive” school district staff if he did not receive a pay raise.

According to police records, 29-year-old Omar Alanis, a Dallas Independent School District social studies teacher at Seagoville High, used his school email account to correspond with the principal and other administrators, demanding they pay him and another teacher “Master Teacher Salary” wages plus monetary compensation for the new classification retroactive to August, which was the beginning of the 2016-17 school year, The Dallas Morning News reported.

One of the emails Alanis purportedly sent warned his ultimatum must be met by Dallas ISD administrators if they “don’t want to burn alive,” according to police records. In another email, Alanis allegedly said that anyone who did not comply with his demands for a pay increase would be “put down immediately” by the Dallas Police Department (DPD). The Dallas newspaper indicated Alanis attached a photo of police officers with weapons to the email. School district officials contacted local law enforcement.

Last week, KDFW reported that Seagoville High School beefed up security while Dallas ISD campus police and DPD investigated the threatening emails. At the time, the community did not know Alanis was the potential perpetrator. Alanis agreed to a police interview in which he reportedly admitted to sending the emails and also stated he was standing up to the administration to bring about salary changes, which he believed were necessary.

Alanis, a world history teacher, was employed by Dallas ISD in August. The Texas Education Agency lists master teacher certifications in reading, math, science, and technology. One of the requirements for this credential is three years of classroom teaching experience.

Police took Alanis into custody last Saturday and charged him with making a terroristic threat. After posting $1,500 bail, he was released and since went to an undisclosed local hospital to undergo psychiatric evaluation, according to KDFW, who spoke to Alanis’ sister Arlene. She defended her brother, saying she believes he was not in his right mind when he sent the emails. She attributed Alanis’ behavior to a significant death in the family. “As far as we’re concerned, he’s not mentally stable at this point. He had some sort of mental breakdown. My grandpa passed away recently, so that might have triggered that.”

Additionally, she told KDFW her brother vanished for a week and the family had no idea about his whereabouts, adding Alanis was “very unlike himself” the last time she saw him. “I was just like that’s not my brother,” she said. “We’re getting our brother the help he needs. He’s not a terrorist. There’s no need for anyone to be afraid of him.”

School district administrators and local police continue to probe the allegations against Alanis, but Dallas ISD officials cannot say anything further because of the investigation. Spokeswoman Robyn Harris told Breitbart Texas, “The teacher is on administrative leave, as such, we are unable to comment on personnel matters.”

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