A 16-year-old student was shot by police officers after he refused to drop a gun he brought to a school in Mesquite on Monday.
According to the Dallas Morning News, officers fired 19 shots at the student, wounding him in the leg. The student did not fire the gun.
Mesquite police received a 911 call at 8:49 a.m. reporting that a student had entered the school office with a gun and was threatening to shoot himself and others on campus. School administrators talked to the student and calmed him down until police officers arrived.
According to NBC 5, three police officers talked to the student and told him to put the gun down, but ended up shooting and wounding him. It is not clear if he was hit by a bullet or shrapnel.
It is still unclear whether the student pointed his gun at the officers.
“We are grateful that this incident resulted in no injuries to other students, faculty members, or any officers,” officers wrote in a statement.
The student was taken to a hospital, released Monday evening and booked into the Dallas County Juvenile Detention Center. He is currently charged with exhibiting a firearm, a third-degree felony, but could face additional charges.
On Monday, school officials sent a letter to parents saying they would increase security at the school by adding more cameras, installing metal detectors and training staff.
On Tuesday, the school said metal detectors had already been installed and there was an armed guard patrolling the campus, but some parents expressed concern.
“I was at work just bawling in tears. The scariest thing you could ever imagine,” said Talitha Conner, the parent of a student at the school. “I don’t even want her to come back to school, you know what I’m saying? Like, you just don’t know what to do at this point. You’re safe nowhere.”
To learn more about gun violence in Texas, visit our Gun Violence Watch website.
