Mesquite Horn student brought gun to school Monday, district says new clear bag policy helped find it
MESQUITE, Texas - Mesquite ISD officials say they found a gun that a high school student brought to the first day of school on Monday.
John Horn High School administrators found the gun while enforcing the district's new clear bag policy, according to Mesquite ISD.
The policy requires all students to use clear bags for things like backpacks, purses and tote bags.
Mesquite police say one student was arguing with staff about storing his non-compliant bag, and they saw him attempt to hide it among others in the room.
School Resource Officers were called and a K9 indicated an odor associated with firearms or ammo was inside the bag.
When police looked inside the bag, they found a Ruger 9mm inside the backpack. The gun had been reported stolen.
The student, 17-year-old Demarea Smith, was charged with unlawful carrying of a weapon in a prohibited place.
Demarea Smith
The district says that the student will also be disciplined based on the Student Code of Conduct.
Mesquite ISD says they didn't know of any threats in connection to the incident.
The clear bag policy was put into place in Mesquite for the 2023-2024 school year in an effort to increase safety in schools.
FOX 4 got a look at the clear bags on Monday as students arrived at Mesquite's new Cross Elementary campus.
Parent Marie Perez said she was happy with the change.
"You can see what's going on here without reaching inside the backpack. It's safe for the kids," she said.
Mesquite ISD has also hired an additional 37 armed security guards for this school year.
It's in direct response to a new state law that requires Texas public school districts to have armed security at every campus starting Sept. 1.
Featured
Texas bill requiring all schools to have armed security goes into effect this fall
A new law that takes effect this September will require Texas school districts to have an armed officer on every campus. And if a district is unable to do this, it must have a ‘good cause exception’ with an alternative plan.
The renewed emphasis on school safety came in response to the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde last year.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Secret Service Dallas Field Office and the National Threat Assessment Center held a free school threat assessment training in Irving.
Dozens of school administrators, local law enforcement officers and mental health professionals attended the conference.
"The more education we can do with our administrators, with our law enforcement personnel, with teachers, parents to have them recognize red flags," said Bill Smarr with the Secret Service.
While the organizers did not want to publicize sensitive details of the specific threat training, they said the goal is to make Texas schools safer.