Parent Charged After Carrying Concealed Weapon On School Campus & Accidentally Shooting Himself
Thankfully, none of the students or teachers were put in harm's way.
Arlington Independent School District / Arlington Police Department On Thursday morning in Arlington, Texas, just two days after the deadly school shooting that occurred in Uvalde’s Robb Elementary School, a man walked onto an elementary school campus with a loaded gun in the waistband of his jeans.
According to police, 55-year-old Anthony White was walking toward the front office at Duff Elementary at about 11:45 a.m. when he went to adjust his pants and accidentally triggered the firearm, causing the gun to go off and injure him in the leg.
Arlington police arrested the man for carrying a concealed weapon on a school campus.
Police believe that White had no malicious intent but is now facing a criminal charge.
The school was scheduled to release early at the planned time of 12:10 p.m., and White had simply arrived at the school to pick up his child when the unfortunate accident occurred.
Police confirmed that the shot injured White’s leg. There were no other injuries reported and the gunshot wound to White’s leg was not considered life-threatening.
White was treated and released from the hospital Thursday afternoon, however, since it’s illegal to bring a gun onto school property, he was arrested immediately upon his release and was charged with unlawful carrying of a weapon in prohibited places.
Crossing guard Gerald Sims, who worked near the school, started his shift at noon and spoke to NBC 5 about how the situation unfolded.
"As a lady walked over, told me what happened, she said 911 is going to cover the area. Sure enough, that’s exactly what happened," Sims said.
"I saw the guy walk. They helped him from the sidewalk down the stairs and back up, sat on there. He sat on that retainer wall until the ambulance came and took him away."
The Arlington Independent School District placed the school on a brief lockdown before lifting it a short time later once they announced that there were no threats made to the school and that the students and staff would be safe to resume operations.
Parents of students attending Duff Elementary were notified of the lockdown and feared that the worst had happened to their kids.
Keri Stubbe, who has two children who attend Duff Elementary, rushed out of work after receiving a notification about the lockdown on her phone.
"So, I ran out of work. I’ll probably get fired, but it’s OK," Stubbe told NBC 5. "I knew they were in good hands. Just as a parent, automatically assume the worst things. So, you just want to be with them."
The incident occurred just two days after 21 people were murdered at an elementary school a little over 350 miles away and tensions continue to rise.
"’The teacher said we’re all OK. Everything is fine. Our teachers have [us] in our rooms, and everything’s OK. I just wanted to let you know we’re OK,’" Stubbe recalled her daughter's texts saying.
"A lot of weight was lifted but at the same time, her being 11 … she had all kinds of stories and not correct information, so I wasn’t sure if it was on the campus. Was it down the street? Where was it? Was this a parent? A stranger? Somebody trying to get to the school?"
Other parents reeled from the alert as well, worried that the worst thing had happened to their little ones in school as it has to many others in the past.
"When I received the text message, I was like, ‘Oh my God, something is going to happen.’ I was shocked," parent Karima Rasheed told FOX 4.
"What are we going to do? They have to go to school, and obviously, statistically, it is unlikely to happen, but you never want to be the one statistic. What if it is your kids?" Matthew Mitchell said.
Mitchell’s daughters go to another Arlington school, but his family lives right across the street from where the lockdown occurred.
"I’m terrified, absolutely terrified. I’ve got twin six-year-olds that go to a different Arlington school and every time I hear there is a lockdown or a school shooting, my heart jumps into my throat," he said.
The fear that your child might one day be one of the unlucky ones is a very real fear that plagues parents all over the country, causing incidents like this one to feel too close for comfort.
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Follow him on Twitter here.