LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Louisville law firm is suing Jefferson County Public Schools, Kentucky's largest school district.

Attorneys involved with the case said a former JCPS principal pulled a gun on two children and threatened to kill them.

What You Need To Know

  • A lawsuit filed Jan. 7 alleges former Hartstern Elementary School principal Duan Wright threatened to kill two children 

  • It alleges in 2019, Wright opened his desk drawer in his office, removed a gun, slammed it on the desk in front of the children and said, "If you don't get it together, I'm going to feed you the wolves" 

  • Attorney John Spalding said the suit was filed on behalf of one of the students and their mother, who was a JCPS employee

  • In a statement sent to Spectrum News 1, Jefferson County Public Schools said it will not comment on the lawsuit 

The lawsuit was filed Jan. 7. It alleges in 2019, former Hartstern Elementary School principal Duan Wright opened his desk drawer in his office, removed a gun, slammed it on the desk in front of two 7-year-old boys and threatened to kill them, adding, “If you don’t get it together, I’m going to feed you to the wolves." 

 

“It’s a shocking fact pattern, and frankly, it’s beyond the bounds of decency," said John Spalding, an attorney at Alex R. White, PLLC. "It’s unacceptable.”

Spalding said the suit was filed on behalf of one of the students and their mother, who was a JCPS employee. According to court documents, Wright was relocated to the same building where that mother worked.

The suit said she asked to either move him or her. She wound up resigning from JCPS, according to the filed complaint. The filed complaint said Wright was fired in March 2024.

“For our clients specifically, they have been greatly harmed by this," Spalding said. "This is a serious case; this is not a joke. What happened has deeply affected their lives.”

There have been investigations, Spalding said. 

“Those investigations have not been enough to get the clients the justice that they deserve," he said.

The documents stated that in 2019, JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio "notified the board that Wright displayed a toy firearm and used inappropriate language to gain student compliance.”

“I do not know if it was a toy, but I’ll tell you from what the proof in this case will show," Spalding said. "The way this gun was described was consistent, and it was described as something that would resemble a real gun.

Spalding said he wants some level of accountability for his clients.

 “At the end of it all, my hope is that through this litigation, we can affect some chance because it’s needed," he said. 

Spectrum News 1 reached out to JCPS for a statement on this lawsuit. A spokesperson told Spectrum News 1, “We do not comment on pending litigation.”

The next notable event in the case is to start taking depositions, Spalding said.