A Richardson ISD student was stabbed in the neck on a school bus Wednesday morning, while another student was caught with a firearm on campus in a separate incident the same day, district officials confirmed.
The two unrelated incidents at Lake Highlands High School highlight escalating safety concerns in North Texas schools. Both student suspects face felony charges and expulsion.
Lonnieshi Dollarhide described the terrifying call from her 16-year-old son, JaeShon Forte-Hall.
“My phone rang, and it was my son. And he said, ‘Mom, get to the school, I’ve been stabbed.’ I said what?” Dollarhide said, per NBC 5 DFW.
JaeShon intervened when two students fought on the bus, and a girl was pushed. The attacker stabbed him with a paring knife.
“He gets off the bus and all of his friends are like bro, you’re bleeding, you’re bleeding, and he looked down and there was blood all over him,” said Dollarhide.
She rushed to campus, where she saw staff applying pressure to his neck wound. Dallas Fire-Rescue then arrived and transported JaeShon to the hospital in stable condition.
Dallas police responded around 9 a.m. to the school in the 9400 block of Church Road. The suspect was arrested at the scene, according to a DPD statement.
In the firearm incident, administrators searched a student after receiving a tip. They found a gun in the student’s backpack.
Principal Kerri Jones notified parents about the two incidents at 1:30 p.m., nearly five hours after the stabbing. The delay frustrated Dollarhide.
“Why did the school district wait so late to notify parents?” she said, per NBC 5. “I’m a little worried because he still has to be at school. His safety is my biggest concern.”
Jones credited the discovery of the firearm to a student who “saw something and said something.” She assured parents that portable metal detectors would be used more frequently.
Both incidents resulted in immediate arrests. The district plans to expel both student suspects under its code of conduct. Counselors are available for students concerned about campus safety.
JaeShon was hospitalized overnight in stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery.