KINGSVILLE, Tx — Two potential threats in six days towards schools in Kingsville have students, parents, and the community shaken. The threats come shortly after news of the Georgia school shooting.
On Monday, a social media threat put students at H.M. King High School on lockdown between 9:30 and 11 a.m. Law officials went to the school to find the person responsible for the threat. A 16-year-old student was detained off-campus.
“It’s horrible, it’s unbelievable, it’s scary. You send your kids out to school, but you don’t know if you’re getting them back home,” grandma Deanna Guerra said.
Deanna Guerra has two grandsons in tenth grade.
“My grandkids are my life. I had stage four breast cancer 16 years ago, and I had to fight this disease to see my grandkids. I want to be there for them. I’m always there for them. They call me grandma gives-it-all,” Guerra said.
So when Deanna heard from her daughter-in-law that her grandbabies were on lockdown, the fear kicked in.
“I lost two to covid, so am I going to lose my grandkids to this thing going on with kids with guns?” Guerra said.
Deanna went to H.M King High School and graduated class of 1976. She recalls a time when threats weren’t a problem and shares where she thinks it stems from.
“These kids think it’s a joke? We never went through none of this. It starts from home and parents who really don’t care. Because if you care, you don’t tell your kids you have a gun and where,” Guerra said.
This is the second threat that local law enforcement has worked with KISD to investigate.
“It’s important for our community to know that we take any threat to public safety very seriously. Our partnership with KISD is critical in maintaining a secure and supportive environment for our students staff and families. We are dedicated to providing the best and safest service possible and will continue to work diligently with our partners to protect our community,” Kingsville Police Chief John Blair said in a press release.
KRIS 6 took Deanna’s concerns to the school district to find out what they’re doing to proactively keep students safe moving forward.
“We are asking the kids to leave their backpacks at home, just precautionary measures. It makes it easier for staff and students to feel safe when they’re on campus,” Assistant Superintendent of Support Programs," Dr. Juan Sandoval said.
The district also has a group of guardians. Guardians are people on campus who are trained and certified to carry a weapon actively.
KISD Superintendent Dr.Cissy Perez said “Our students and community are safer when we are united and keeping in close communication. I truly appreciate KPD’s swift action and the swift action of our county judge in pursuing the next steps to detain offenders. It is important to note that threats are also considered outcries. Until more state funding gets to public schools in order to help meet the mental outcries of our growing needs of students, this cycle will continue in our state and nation. Public schools are still being funded according to 2019 standards. It is 2024, and costs have multiplied considerably for bus transportation, gasoline, electricity, and insurance, while the mental needs of students have also multiplied.”
As for the student apprehended, the student will get the appropriate consequence and be held accountable for causing disruption and putting the district in an unsafe situation.
“We want to make sure our parents hear the information from us. One of the first things we do is make sure the safety of our students is most important, and we want to make sure they make it home safe every day,” Sandoval said.
Parents can expect to see more law enforcement and sweeps at Kingsville schools in the coming days.
As for safety, an intruder audit is designed to look at the safety and security of schools in Texas. KISD’s last intruder audit was at the end of last school year in May, and they passed all standards.
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