A 15-year-old girl who was wounded in a Texas high school shooting is “in good spirits,” and the 16-year-old boy suspected of opening fire in the cafeteria has been charged as a juvenile with aggravated assault, officials said Tuesday.
Italy Independent School District Superintendent Lee Joffre, who visited the girl at a Dallas hospital and spoke to reporters outside Italy High School, said, “It is an amazing demonstration of her strength that she was able to survive this.”
In a statement addressed to parents and the community Tuesday, Joffre said the girl, whose name has not been released, was shot multiple times Monday morning at the high school in Italy, south of Dallas.
The teenage boy who was arrested not long after the shooting was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, the Ellis County district attorney’s office announced Tuesday. He was being held at a juvenile detention center, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday in juvenile court.
Police have not released the suspect’s name and Italy police Chief Michael Taylor did not respond to a request for comment.
Assistant District Attorney Ann Montgomery declined to say whether the boy’s case will remain in juvenile court or whether prosecutors will move to charge him as an adult.
Montgomery would not say why the suspect was charged with two counts. Ellis County sheriff’s Sgt. Joe Fitzgerald also declined to comment on that.
Cassie Shook, a 17-year-old junior at the school, has told The Associated Press that she was driving up to the building Monday when she saw “the doors fly open and everyone screaming and running out of the building.” She said she was angry when she learned who the suspect was because she’d complained about the boy at least twice to school officials, including to a vice principal.
“This could have been avoidable,” she said. “There were so many signs.”
Shook said she first went to school officials after the boy allegedly made a “hit list” in eighth grade and her name was on it. Then last year, the boy got angry during a class and threw a pair of scissors at her friend and later threw a computer against a wall, she said. She said the boy was removed from the school but eventually was allowed back.
Tina Haight, whose daughter attends the school, told KDFW-TV in Dallas that she had complained to school administrators after the same boy threw scissors at her daughter in anger.
Joffre has repeatedly said that he can’t comment on disciplinary actions involving students. He says that the district “adheres to regulations established by the Texas Education Agency.”
“I have confidence that our administration always addresses the Texas education code appropriately,” he said.
In his statement Tuesday to parents and the community, Joffre said he understands they have “many questions and concerns.” At a news conference Tuesday afternoon at a church that lasted less than five minutes, Joffre said he’d like to help “possibly address some of the concerns” about “conversations and speculation regarding student discipline.” He noted though that while he could talk generally about disciplinary procedures, the law prohibits a district from speaking specifically regarding student discipline or any other student incidents.
Shook said the girl who was shot had moved to the school district a few months earlier. She said the girl had briefly dated the suspect, but that she did not know much about her.
Fitzgerald said authorities would inquire about any dating history involving the two as part of the investigation. The sergeant also said officials know where the handgun used in the shooting was obtained. He declined to publicly reveal that information.
School resumed Tuesday. Agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives searched the building for weapons and explosive devices before students arrived. Joffre said law enforcement officers would be on campus through the day.
“It was an extra assurance for us to be ready for our students today,” he said.
Italy, a town of about 2,000 people that dubs itself “The Biggest Little Town In Texas,” is about 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of Dallas.
___
An assistant district attorney is declining to say whether the case of a 16-year-old boy accused of opening fire inside a Texas high school will remain in juvenile court or whether prosecutors will move to charge him as an adult.
The Ellis County district attorney’s office said Tuesday that the boy has been charged as a juvenile with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. A 15-year-old girl was wounded in the shooting inside the cafeteria at the high school in the small town of Italy (IT’-lee) south of Dallas.
Assistant District Attorney Ann Montgomery would not say why the suspect was charged with two counts. Ellis County sheriff’s Sgt. Joe Fitzgerald also declined to comment.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled Wednesday in juvenile court. The suspect is being held at a juvenile detention center.
___
The head of a Texas school district where a 15-year-old girl was shot and a 16-year-old boy has been arrested says in a statement to parents and the community that he understands they have “many questions and concerns.”
Italy Independent School District superintendent Lee Joffre said in the Tuesday statement that he met with the victim following the Monday morning shooting at the high school in Italy, located south of Dallas. He says the girl, who is in a Dallas hospital, was shot multiple times.
A parent and a student in media interviews have expressed concern about past incidents involving the suspect. Cassie Shook, a 17-year-old junior at the school, told The Associated Press the boy got angry during a class and threw a pair of scissors at her friend and later threw a computer against a wall. She had said the boy was out of school for a time, but was allowed to return.
At a Tuesday news conference that lasted less than five minutes, Joffre said he’d like to help “possibly address some of the concerns” about “conversations and speculation regarding student discipline.” He noted though that while he could talk generally about disciplinary procedures, the law prohibits a district from speaking specifically regarding student discipline or any other student incidents.
___
A 15-year-old girl who was wounded in a Texas high school shooting is “in good spirits,” and the 16-year-old boy suspected of opening fire in the cafeteria has been charged as a juvenile with aggravated assault, officials said Tuesday.
School District superintendent Lee Joffre told reporters outside Italy High School that he visited the girl at a Dallas hospital.
“It is an amazing demonstration of her strength that she was able to survive this,” he said of the girl, who authorities have not identified. Joffre did not provide details about her condition. He said in a statement released to the community later in the day that she was shot multiple times.
The teenage boy who was arrested not long after the shooting Monday morning at the school south of Dallas was meanwhile charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, the Ellis County district attorney’s office announced Tuesday.
A preliminary hearing in juvenile court is scheduled for Wednesday. He was being held at a juvenile detention center.
Police have not released the suspect’s name and Italy police Chief Michael Taylor did not respond to a request for comment.
Cassie Shook, a 17-year-old junior at the school, earlier told The Associated Press that she was driving up to the cafeteria Monday when she saw “the doors fly open and everyone screaming and running out of the building.” She said she was angry when she learned who the suspect was because she had complained about him at least twice to school officials, including to a vice principal.
“This could have been avoidable,” she said. “There were so many signs.”
Tina Haight, whose daughter attends the school, told KDFW-TV in Dallas that she had complained to school administrators after the same boy threw scissors at her daughter in anger.
Joffre said Tuesday that he couldn’t comment on disciplinary actions involving students, but that the school district adheres to regulations established by the Texas Education Agency.
“I have confidence that our administration always addresses the Texas education code appropriately,” he said.
Shook said the girl who was shot had moved to the school district a few months earlier. She said the girl had briefly dated the suspect, but that she did not know much about her.
Ellis County sheriff’s Sgt. Joe Fitzgerald said authorities would inquire about any dating history involving the two as part of the investigation.
Fitzgerald said officials know where the suspect obtained the handgun used in the shooting but he declined to publicly reveal that information.
Agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives searched the school for weapons and explosive devices before students arrived Tuesday. Joffre said law enforcement officers would be on campus through the day.
“It was an extra assurance for us to be ready for our students today,” he said.
Italy, a town of about 2,000 people that dubs itself “The Biggest Little Town In Texas,” is about 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of Dallas.
___
About 300 people packed a church in a small North Texas community to pray for a girl wounded in a shooting at the town’s high school.
The vigil Monday night at Central Baptist Church in Italy (IT’-lee) was held to bring comfort to residents in the town of about 2,000 in the wake of the shooting at Italy High School.
Authorities have a 16-year-old boy in custody as a suspect in the shooting of the 15-year-old girl, which occurred Monday morning in the school cafeteria.
___
A 16-year-old boy accused of shooting a classmate at a Texas high school on Monday had a history of aggressive actions at school, a fellow student said.
The injured student, a 15-year-old girl, was airlifted to a hospital in Dallas following the shooting inside the cafeteria at Italy High School, which is in the small town of Italy about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Dallas. The boy fled after being confronted by a school district official but was later arrested.
Cassie Shook, a 17-year-old junior at the school, told The Associated Press that she was driving up to the building when she saw “the doors fly open and everyone screaming and running out of the building.” She said she was angry when she learned who the suspect was because she’d complained about the boy at least twice to school officials, including to a vice principal.
“This could have been avoidable,” she said. “There were so many signs.”
Shook said she first went to school officials after the boy allegedly made a “hit list” in eighth grade and her name was on it. Then last year, the boy got angry during a class and threw a pair of scissors at her friend and later threw a computer against a wall, she said.
“I ran out of the classroom screaming, telling everyone to hide because I was scared,” Shook said.
Shook said police came to talk to the class after the incident. She said the boy was removed from the school but eventually was allowed back.
Italy Independent School District Superintendent Lee Joffre said the district couldn’t comment on disciplinary actions involving students. Police have not released the boy’s name and didn’t return a message seeking comment about his past.
Shook said the girl who was shot Monday had moved to the school district a few months earlier. Police said the girl was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where a spokeswoman said she couldn’t release any information about the girl’s condition.
The school district of about 600 students is located near the center of Italy, a town of about 2,000 people that dubs itself “The Biggest Little Town In Texas.” Joffre said that about 45 to 55 students are typically in the high school’s cafeteria in the morning for breakfast. He noted that school would be in session Tuesday and that counselors would be available.
“In a small town, the school district is the center of what goes on for our kids, and this morning’s tragedy hits the heart of this community,” Joffre said.
Ellis County Sheriff Chuck Edge said during a news conference that the suspect “engaged the victim” and fired several shots from a semi-automatic .380 handgun just before 8 a.m. Edge did not say how many times the victim was shot.
Investigators have said they don’t know the relationship between the victim and shooter, or what may have been the shooter’s motive.
Edge said the suspect fled when confronted by a school district official but was later arrested by law enforcement on school grounds. Edge said the handgun was recovered at the scene and is in evidence.
Edge said it’s unclear where the boy may have gotten the weapon. He also didn’t know what charges the boy might face.
On Monday night, about 300 people packed an Italy church to pray for the wounded girl and their shocked community.