HPD: Girl jailed after threats made to bring gun to school
A 17-year-old girl was arrested after Hallettsville police say they received several reports that she threatened to bring a firearm to Hallettsville High School, just hours after the tragic events unfolded in Uvalde last week, according to a May 25 HPD press release.
The Uvalde Massacre, as it is now called, saw 21 lives lost and 16 more wounded when a teenaged gunman entered an open door at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde and opened fire on those inside until his own life was ended by a lawman who took a bullet in the leg and narrowly dodged getting shot in the head to bring the shooter down and end the carnage.
Though the Hallettsville Police Department release states no firearm ever made it to school grounds, “a 17-year-old adult was subsequently arrested for Texas Educational Code 37.125,” which deals with the threat of exhibition and/or use of firearms at school or on a bus.
HPD’s Facebook account later explained that Texas law considers 17-years-old as adults in criminal matters.
The HPD account also confirmed with commenters that the incident was not believed connected to the false threats of mass casualty reported at a Victoria ISD Elementary school on Wednesday, May 25.
“Any type of threat against our schools and staff will be taken very seriously,” Hallettsville ISD administrators are quoted as saying in the release. “Our biggest priority is keeping our students and staff safe at all times.”
As of press time, attempts to get in touch with school officials, post-graduation and over the holiday weekend, were not successful. Similarly, arrest reports were not readily available during the holiday weekend, when the newspaper first learned of the Hallettsville incident.
The 17-year-old was not in custody at Lavaca County Jail as of Monday, May 30, online jail records showed.
Lavaca County Sheriff Micah Harmon said late Monday he was not familiar with the specifics of Hallettsville’s case. He did confirm the sex of the accused, however, adding that “her guilt or innocence will now be up to the courts to decide.”