More details are emerging about the attempted school shooting in Mesquite earlier this week, including the armed teen’s alleged intent.
The investigation into an incident involving the suspect at a local school is still ongoing, yet charges have been filed against the 16-year-old, and more may be pending.
“He brought a gun to school to hurt people,” said Lt. Brandon Ricketts of the Mesquite Police Department, according to the Associated Press. “He was there to hurt people, is what he was telling witnesses.”
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the Mesquite Police Department responded to an active shooter call at Pioneer Technology & Arts Academy at 3200 Oates Dr. at about 8:49 a.m. on February 19. One of the students attending the school had brought a firearm inside but was persuaded to go into an office by the school principal, who kept him there until law enforcement arrived.
However, the teen allegedly refused to comply with the three responding police officers who ordered him to put the gun down. They ultimately opened fire, wounding the suspect in the leg.
“Collectively, between the three officers, a total of 19 rounds were fired,” said Mesquite police Sgt. Curtis Phillip, according to Fox 4 KDFW.
The teen was released from the hospital and formally charged with carrying a firearm onto a school campus. He is in the custody of Dallas County juvenile authorities. How he came to be in possession of the gun is being investigated, as well as the response of police officers, who are on paid leave pending the results of the investigation.
In nearby Dallas, there have been several incidents involving minors and firearms recently, with 2023 ending with a deadly shootout between two 15-year-olds outside the Mountain Creek Branch library on December 30. As reported by The Dallas Express, a witness allegedly told Dallas police that one teen was attempting to purchase an AR-15 from the other using counterfeit cash when the gunfight erupted.
As of February 21, there have been a total of 308 weapons violations, 743 aggravated assaults, and 34 homicides reported since the start of the year, according to the City’s crime analytics dashboard.
The Dallas Police Department has been grappling with a significant staffing shortage, which has hindered its efforts to curb crime effectively. This is most evident in Downtown Dallas, which regularly puts up higher crime rates than neighboring Fort Worth’s city center. The latter is patrolled by a dedicated police unit and private security officers, while the former fields only 3,000 officers despite a City analysis previously calling for 4,000.
Yet, adding to the challenges is the allocation of just $654 million to DPD operations this fiscal year. City leaders opted to budget considerably less for policing efforts compared to the spending seen in other high-crime municipalities, such as New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
