Jersey Village High School Falcons
"On Wings That Soar Into Tomorrow"
May 22, 1998
On Thursday, May 21, at the end of school as students were preparing to leave their last period class, a female student at Jersey Village High School suffered a gonshot wound to the leg. The injured student was transported to a local hospital, is in stable condition, and is expected to recover fully.
The weapon, which discharged from the inside og a backpack, has been taken into police custody. The student suspect is also in police custody. The incident is being investigated by Precinct 4, and based on information obtained from Precinct 4 after their preliminary investigation, the shooting appears to be accidental.
The news media has portrayed Jersey Village High School in a negative manner as a result of misinformation given to them about the incident. For example, three Houston news channels incorrectly identified an adolescent as a Jersey Village High School Student. That student is NOT a student at Jersey Village High School, and, while on camera, he provided unreliable information regarding the accessibility of weapons on our campus. Additionally, one media organization identified the wrong person as the injured student on its 10 o'clock newscast.
During the 1997-1998 academic year, we have taken numerous precautions to ensure a safe and orderly environment. The district, through the sound and prudent officers of the Board of Trustees, has installed surveillance cameras in our hallways and in areas outside the perimeter of the building. We have a full time Harris County Constable and a Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District security on our campus during the entire instructional day. Campus administration has contracted with off-duty Jersey Village police officers to provide additional parking lot security during the peak traffic lunch hours of 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. On an unannounced basis, the District uses canines trained to alert upon the detection of weapons and illegal substances. Furthermore, the campus administration has initiated hall sweeps to ensure that students are in class or a supervised, designated location during school hours. We are also in the process of implementing Student Support Teams for the upcoming fall semester. Student support teams will be comprised faculty members trained to identify students, prior to the onset of a crisis, who require adult intervention and assistance. These Student Support Teams will provide a formal, anonymous acenue through which students may report concerns regarding their classmates to a team of trained faculty members. Finally, Crime Stopper (222-TIPS) signs have been installed in key camous locations to provide yet another method to report inappropriate student activities to the police and our school administration.
We believe our efforts are heling to provide a safe environment. Nevertheless, as in any family or school, an individual may act inappropriately from moment to moment. The Jersey Village High School family needs your support. Therefore, please discuss with your children the importance of immediately reporting to you, or to a faculty member, any information regarding student possession of a weapon or other illegal substance as well as a knowlege of anything potentially harmful to students. I encourage you to discuss with your children methods for resolving conflict through non-violent means. Finally, I ask you to join us in our efforts to provide a safe, orderly, and academically focused school environment. The campus administration is proud of our students and their excellent academic and social records. We truely believe that our students are the best in the nation. I am honored to be a Falcon and to be your principal.
(Signed)
Dan Troxell, Ph.D.
A 15-year-old Jersey Village High School girl was wounded in the leg Thursday in an incident officials believe was caused by the accidental discharge of a pistol in another student's backpack.
The girl, whose name was not released, was shot below the knee just before 3 p.m. in a science class as 20 or more students were about to leave school for the day, said Karen Moore, chief deputy of the Precinct 4 constable's office.
"They (students) were heading for the door when they heard a crack," Moore said. "They, believing it was a gun, all started running."
The girl was struck by a bullet from a .38-caliber revolver, which discharged while inside a backpack that belongs to a 17-year-old boy, Moore said.
The girl was admitted to Spring Branch Medical Center, where she was in good condition. No one else was injured.
Moore said it's uncertain how the gun discharged, but it appears one student was handing the backpack to its owner when the gun fired.
The owner of the backpack, later taken into custody at his home, told investigators he ran and got on a school bus after the gun discharged because he was scared. The boy said he was not aware that anyone had been struck by a bullet.
The gun was found by deputies still inside the backpack, which was left in the classroom.
The boy said he brought the gun to school because he had been threatened off campus and "felt a need to carry the weapon."
Third-degree felony charges of possession of a firearm on a school campus were pending against the youth, Moore said.
"When they said it was a wound to the knee, it didn't trouble me as much," said the wounded girl's father, a Houston firefighter who did not want his name released. "It was an accident. I'd much rather it be that than somebody walking in blowing somebody away."
A girl's young sister said students carry guns to school because they think "it's cool."
Friends of the family at the hospital emphasized there is a great need to stop the proliferation of children carrying handguns.
"They need to do something. It (school ground shootings) is happening all over the United States," said one friend.
Precinct 4 deputies, who patrol Jersey Village High and other schools in the Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District, occasionally take guns away from students, Moore said.
However, she said, "We have not had that much trouble. Ninety-five percent of the kids are good kids."
Still, she is troubled by the possession and use of guns by children.
"I wonder what our solution is to things like this is," she said. "Isn't it sad?"
By The Associated Press
May 21, 1998 -- A 17-year-old student is killed and more than 20 other people are injured after a 15-year-old boy allegedly opens fire at Thurston High School in Springfield, Ore. Two bodies believed to be those of the suspect's parents found in his home. A day later, another student dies of a head wound suffered in the school rampage.
May 19, 1998 -- Three days before his graduation, an 18-year-old honor student allegedly opens fire in parking lot at Lincoln County High School in Fayetteville, Tenn., killing classmate who was dating his ex-girlfriend.
April 24, 1998 -- 48-year-old science teacher shot to death in front of students at graduation dance in Edinboro, Pa. A 14-year-old student at James W. Parker Middle School is charged.
March 24, 1998 -- Four girls and a teacher shot to death and 10 others wounded during a false fire alarm at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Ark. Two boys, age 11 and 13, are accused of setting the alarm and then opening fire from a nearby woods.
Dec. 1, 1997 -- Three students are killed and five others wounded in a prayer circle in a hallway at Heath High School in West Paducah, Ky. A 14-year-old student is arrested. One of the wounded girls is left paralyzed.
Oct. 1, 1997 -- A 16-year-old in Pearl, Miss., is accused of killing his mother, then going to Pearl High School and shooting nine students. Two die, including the suspect's ex-girlfriend. Authorities later accuse six friends of conspiracy, saying the suspects dabbled in satanism.
Feb. 19, 1997 -- A 16-year-old student opens fire with a shotgun in a common area at the Bethel, Alaska, high school, killing the principal and a student. Two other students are wounded. Authorities later accuse two other students of knowing the shootings would take place. Evan Ramsey was sentenced to two 99-year terms.
Feb. 2, 1996 -- A 14-year-old boy walks into algebra class in a trenchcoat with a hunting rifle and allegedly opens fire, killing the teacher and two students. A third student is injured during the shooting at Frontier Junior High School in Moses Lake, Wash. Prosecutors say the boy was inspired by the plot of a Stephen King novel and by the movie ``Natural Born Killers.''
