It seems some young people still don’t understand that bringing a notebook full of names to school never ends well in the real world. A student at Chocksett Middle School in Massachusetts became the center of a major police incident after bringing a homemade notebook inspired by the iconic manga Death Note, causing panic among parents and local authorities.

The incident occurred when school officials discovered the notebook at the end of the school day. Upon reviewing it, they found it contained the names of several students, prompting them to immediately call Sterling police to treat the case as a possible threat to school safety. After a quick investigation involving interviews with dozens of students, police and Principal Tina Boss concluded the student was only making a reference to the series and there was never any real intent to harm anyone.

Despite authorities determining there was no real danger or reason for criminal charges, the situation left not all parents at ease. The mother of a student whose name appeared on the list hired a lawyer and demanded the two students be permanently separated in classrooms. The woman stated it’s not a funny joke and her daughter deserves to go to school without feeling scared, regardless of whether the notebook’s origin is from an anime or a game.

This case isn’t an isolated incident in U.S. schools. Over the years, similar situations with notebooks inspired by the work of Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata have been recorded, including the arrest of a 12-year-old boy in Florida just weeks ago or similar cases in Ohio, Alabama, and New Hampshire. After serving a three-day suspension, the student returned to his activities while authorities maintain vigilance on the premises.

About Death Note

Death Note is a legendary manga and anime franchise written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. The story follows Light Yagami, a brilliant high school student who finds a supernatural notebook capable of ending the life of anyone whose name is written in its pages. With this power, Light adopts the identity of Kira to try and eradicate crime from the world, starting an intense cat-and-mouse game against the enigmatic detective L.

Do you think schools overreact in these cases or is the parents’ concern understandable?