A first-year pupil at a middle school in Reggio Emilia shared a graphic video in a class WhatsApp group showing a sheep being slaughtered, upsetting and disturbing many classmates. Parents reacted immediately, expressing concern about the impact on children and consulting a lawyer. Some considered filing a complaint with prosecutors and criticized the school’s response. In reply, the headteacher argued that the incident occurred outside school through a privately created WhatsApp chat on students’ personal smartphones and therefore was not directly within the school’s control. The school nevertheless addressed the incident by discussing it with students, incorporating it into citizenship education activities, conducting classroom discussions about social media and shared content, and highlighting existing programmes on legality, digital responsibility, and online behaviour.