HPD probing how kindergartner brought gun to school Child, 6, brings gun to school

Three including that boy are injured when weapon discharges

Police investigate the shooting at Ross Elementary school in north Houston. Police investigate the shooting at Ross Elementary school in north Houston. Photo: James Nielsen, Chronicle Photo: James Nielsen, Chronicle Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close HPD probing how kindergartner brought gun to school 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Five-year-old Jarneshia Broussard was eating her lunch, a hot dog and beans, with her kindergarten class Tuesday when she heard a loud "pop" in the Ross Elementary School cafeteria.

The little girl at first thought a light blew out. Then she recognized the sound.

"I knew it was a gun because a gun goes 'pow,' " she said. "I got really scared."

A loaded pistol had dropped from the pants pocket of a 6-year-old male classmate and discharged, slightly injuring him and two other pupils in the legs or feet, officials said.

The three children — believed to have been hit by a single bullet or fragments — were in stable condition, smiling and playing video games, by Tuesday afternoon, said David deLemos, a trauma specialist at Texas Children's Hospital.

Investigators were trying to determine how the boy obtained a gun and brought it into the northeast Houston campus without anyone stopping him — sending fear through students and parents who trust that school is a safe place.

The boy's parents could not be reached for comment. Officials with Texas Child Protective Services plan to question the family within 24 hours, said agency spokeswoman Gwen Carter.

"It would be a concern about supervision, how a child gained access to a gun and was able to transport it," she said. "In cases like this, we look to the parents to try to understand what has happened."

A relative who would only identify herself as an aunt confirmed that the boy had brought a gun to school and still was in the hospital Tuesday evening.

For having a gun on campus, the boy could face a year-long expulsion to an alternative school, according to Houston Independent School District policy.

The Houston Police Department, which is leading the investigation, would not release details, including the type of gun or the owner.

Ready to forgive

Francelle Thomas, whose 5-year-old daughter, Za'keyah Thomas, had a minor foot injury, said she had spoken with the parents of the boy with the gun and didn't feel any anger.

"I do believe in forgiveness," Thomas said.

Once Za'keyah recovers — the girl was expected to leave the hospital Tuesday night — Thomas said she was not worried about sending her back to Ross, which she called a good school where her daughter has learned a lot.

"I'm not upset," Thomas said. "I can't explain it — probably because I'm just so happy my child is alive. That's all I care about."

Others were not so sanguine.

"This is a problem," Moneek Burleson, Jarneshia Broussard's grandmother, said with tears in her eyes as she clutched her granddaughter's hand. "This is a serious problem and it needs to stop."

The family of the other injured student, Khoran Brown, 6, said he suffered scratches and bruises on his left leg.

"It is a sad situation that took place, but we are thankful our son is in good spirits," the family said in a statement. "He is already asking to get back to school."

Roughly 25 kindergarten students were eating lunch when the gun discharged about 10:35 a.m., said Sam Sarabia, HISD's chief of elementary schools.

"It was loud. It was so loud," said 6-year-old Kennedi Glapion, who was sitting at the same table as the boy who brought the gun.

As other students began coming to the cafeteria, school officials quickly began sending them back to their classrooms, Sarabia said. The 470-student school then went into lockdown for about 45 minutes.

Throngs of parents rushed to the school, at 2819 Bay, to pick up their children, finding yellow police tape and numerous squad cars. The injured students were taken on stretchers into ambulances.

Sarabia said extra security would be at Ross today along with the district's crisis intervention team, a group of six to eight counselors and psychologists.

3 incidents last year

Last school year, HISD reported three incidents of students using or possessing guns, all at Reynolds Elementary. Of the 16 gun incidents two years ago, two involved an elementary campus, DeChaumes.

Across Texas, there were 142 incidents of students using or having guns at public schools last year.

School safety experts cautioned against calling for metal detectors to be placed in elementary schools — a rarity across the country.

"A metal detector can be an extra tool in districts that are faced with some higher risks," said Ken Trump, the president of Cleveland-based National School Safety and Security Services. "But the No. 1 way we find out about weapons in schools is kids find out and tell an adult they trust. It's about building those relationships."

Otis Harr, who runs the Center for Safe and Secure Schools at the Harris County Department of Education, suggested that teachers talk with their students about gun safety and that principals remind employees to be on the lookout for suspicious behavior or objects.

"Reiterate to them, 'Keep an eye out,' " Harr said. "Be vigilant about what they see in the classroom or on the students."

Chronicle reporters Dale Lezon and Ericka Mellon contributed to this report.

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