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KENNEDALE, Texas - Police in Kennedale arrested a 12-year-old boy for pointing a BB gun at another student on a school bus.
Police didn't learn about the scare until after it happened. But there were several kids on the bus who saw it. There was also video, which allowed police to find the middle schooler who did it.
It’s only the first week of school for Kennedale ISD. The incident happened Tuesday after school on a bus coming from Kennedale Junior High. No one was hurt, but police say even though the weapon turned out to be a BB gun it looked like a real gun.
“We still have to take it seriously just like anything else,” said Kennedale Police Capt. Darrell Hull.
It was during a bus ride home from school Wednesday that an argument between two students over a cell phone escalated to the point one of the boys pulled out a BB gun and pointed it at the other boy.
“This BB gun looks just like a regular projectile, combustible weapon,” Hull said.
Police say a few students saw it happen, but no one said anything. The bus driver didn’t notice what was happening. It wasn’t until the victim got home and told his parents that police were called.
“Our school resource officer responded to it,” Hull said. “They were able to pull the data off the school bus. They watched it and were able to get a suspect out of it.”
The 12-year-old responsible has been charged with making a terroristic threat.
Kyman Burks’ niece is in the same grade and also takes the bus to school. He’s unsure if she was on the same bus when this happened, but the thought of it worries him.
“With all these school shootings going on, it’s definitely not something you want to hear with a kid bringing a gun to school,” Burks said. “Whether it’s a toy gun, a BB gun or whatever.”
Police questioned the boy to make sure he had no other intentions. When questioned, the student said he forgot about leaving the BB gun in his backpack. The case has been referred to Tarrant County Juvenile Services.
Kennedale ISD called it a student discipline concern and said in a short statement: “all policies and procedures dealing with this incident were followed. The situation has been handled in accordance with out student code of conduct.”
Kennedale ISD did not answer our questions asking if parents were notified about what happened or if there is another adult on the bus to help the driver.
Police say the student hasn’t been back at school since the incident.