Mesquite high school parents cite safety, communication concerns after Monday's shooting
MESQUITE, Texas - Concerned parents packed a Mesquite high school gym, demanding answers about a police shooting involving a student with a gun.
Their biggest concern was how the incident — and information about it — was relayed to parents.
This week, FOX 4 learned that the 16-year-old student allegedly brought the gun to the Pioneer Technology and Arts Academy to "hurt people."
Mesquite school shooting: Teen who brought gun to school ‘wanted to hurt people’
Mesquite police say the armed student they opened fire on at a charter school campus Monday "wanted to hurt people."
We also learned responding officers fired 19 shots inside the school office where the teen was located.
Several of the topics during the Q&A had to do with communication. Some people in the crowd said communication was lacking on campus when notifying there was a threat. Parents also requested better communication between the school and parents during the lockdown.
Mesquite parents pressed school officials with questions Thursday evening in the school gym just days after Mesquite police shot a 16-year-old student after bringing a gun on campus.
The school banned media from the campus, but there was a livestream of the meeting.
The main concern at Thursday’s meeting was communication.
Parents and students want better communication from administrators during those tense moments.
Some students say they never heard the lockdown announcement on the PA system.
Parents say the notifications from the charter school during the lockdown were spotty.
"There are a lot of parents in the same boat as me to come up and figure out what is going on with our kids. That’s unacceptable!" one parent said.
The school stated it will revisit its communication protocol. But it said at the time of the threat, Mesquite police had taken over.
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Mesquite school shooting: School shares plans to enhance security after student, 16, brings gun
Students at a Mesquite charter school returned to class one day after a 16-year-old student with a gun was shot by police on Monday.
At the start of the school Monday, administrators called 911 stating a student had a handgun in the assistant principal’s office. Witnesses later told investigators the student was threatening to hurt others.
For a few minutes, a principal attempted to calm the student down.
Once police arrived, officers ordered the teenager to put down the gun multiple times - but he refused.
Three officers fired 19 shots, injuring the student in the leg, but it’s unclear if this wound was from a gunshot or shrapnel.
Police say the student did not fire his weapon.
No other students or staff were injured.
Mesquite charter school closed after tense meeting
Classes are canceled today at Pioneer Technology and Arts Academy in Mesquite. A student brought a gun to the charter school earlier this week and refused to put it away. During a heated meeting last night, parents said the school could have done a better job that day.
Pioneer Technology and Arts Academy canceled classes on Friday and has since promised new safety measures, including adding metal detectors and installing more surveillance cameras.
Instead of just one armed security guard on campus, there will now be two guards during the school day.
"We will continue to improve. We will continue to get better," said Dr. Derrick Love, the school’s regional executive director.
Some students also requested more lockdown drills on top of what the state of Texas requires.
The 16-year-old suspect is now in a Dallas County juvenile detention facility facing a felony charge.
Mesquite police said the next update on the investigation will come early next week. Body camera footage and 911 calls will be released to the public.