Several parents at Pioneer Technology and Arts Academy are upset about the disciplinary measures taken against a few students for their response to a classmate bringing a gun to school.
On February 19, Mesquite police quickly responded to a public charter school following a 911 call from an assistant principal reporting an armed student barricaded in an office.
The body camera footage depicts officers attempting to de-escalate the situation with the teenager before ultimately firing their weapons when he seemed to raise his arms with a firearm. The teenager sustained a minor injury and was placed under arrest. NBC 5 has discovered that three students were suspended for failing to report a classmate who brought a gun to school, as reported by the parents of two students.
Marta Fonseca requested NBC 5 to speak directly with her 15-year-old daughter about the events of that morning and her reaction. Gabriela Rodriguez, a PTAA 9th grader, arrived in class about 20 minutes late and noticed the boy moving to sit next to her.
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She explained that he simply opened his backpack and began showing the gun to her. He mentioned doing it one day, so today he followed through. He planned to do it, and now he’s focusing solely on the English teacher. Everyone should simply exit the classroom afterward. Rodriguez initially believed the gun was not real.
She was stunned as she didn’t believe the gun was real. I sat there for about five minutes, thinking to myself that it couldn’t be real. This is not happening. Rodriguez mentioned that the bell rang a few minutes later, so she left and went to her next class without telling any adults. She expressed her hesitation, wondering if the child would betray her and cause her pain.
Fonseca mentions that she has taught her daughters to report any concerns they have, but she believes she should not be criticized for her reaction in a stressful situation.
“That’s quite a burden for a child who recently witnessed another student with a gun in a classroom,” Fonseca remarked. She is still maturing, and her mindset is not yet fully formed. Putting something that large on her made her genuinely fear for her life.
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