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Parents are livid after officials at Pioneer Technology and Arts Academy in Mesquite, Texas, suspended several students for failing to report their classmate brought a gun to campus.
On February 19, police were called to the school after the armed student stormed into the assistant principal's office, waving around the gun. Officers tried to talk the 16-year-old down but fired 19 shots when he reached for the gun.
The teen was shot in the leg and was taken to the hospital. He was released later that day and taken into police custody.
After investigating the incident, school officials learned that at least three students knew their classmate was armed but didn't say anything, so they suspended them. That left parents upset, according to KXAS.
Gabriela Rodriguez, a ninth grader at the school, told the news station that she was in class when the student opened his backpack and showed her the gun. Rodriguez said she was in shock and thought the gun was fake at first.
"I sat there shocked because I didn't think it was a real gun," she said. "I sat there for like five minutes just thinking this isn't real, this isn't real. This isn't happening."
After class, she thought about saying something to an adult but decided not to because she feared she would become a target of the student.
"Yes, I could've tried, but at this point, it's just my mind thinking: 'Would this kid turn on me?' And I get hurt instead of anyone else," she said.
Rodriguez's mother, Marta Fonseca, said that her daughter feared for her life after seeing the gun.
"That's a lot putting on a child who just saw a kid with a gun in a classroom," Fonseca explained. "She's still growing, and her mentality is not fully developed. To place something that big on her, she, in fact, feared for her life."
She said that her daughter and other students were already traumatized by an incident in which police shot the student and shouldn't be subjected to additional punishment.
Another parent blamed the school for not fostering an environment where students feel safe to confide in teachers about threats like guns.
"Maybe they weren't feeling comfortable telling teachers because of the way the teachers are treating them," parent Edgar Villa said.