Fort Worth mother says her son was found locked inside classroom after school

The Fort Worth Independent School District is responding after a mother said her seven-year-old son was locked inside a classroom without anyone’s knowledge.

LaTissue Wallace arrived at Eastern Hills Elementary School last Thursday to pick up her son. Junior and his cousin. She said it was their usual routine.

“This particular time, they only brought her out. So, after waiting, I went back to the door, and I was like, ‘Where is Junior?’ And they were like, ‘We’re waiting, we’re calling for him,’” said Wallace.

Wallace said she waited, and minutes passed. Then she spotted her son’s teacher, who told her Junior had run off ahead of the class at dismissal. That’s when Wallace said she became worried and decided to look for her son herself.

“So at this point, I’m like I need to go find him,” she said. “So, I went up and down the stairs.”

Wallace told NBC 5 she made it to her son’s locked classroom. Then she peered inside the window and said she could see his backpack and lunchbox.

Wallace said she then contacted the assistant principal, who called a janitor for the classroom keys. By this time, roughly 30 minutes had passed, and she started recording with her cell phone.

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The cell phone video shared with NBC 5 shows an administrator unlocking the door. They found Wallace’s son inside the classroom, where he appeared to be sleeping.

NBC 5 contacted Fort Worth ISD for additional information about the incident and asked about the protocol for school dismissal.

The district sent a statement in response to NBC 5's questions:

“The Fort Worth ISD is aware of the video at issue, and we are conducting a thorough investigation into this isolated incident.”

Wallace said it’s simply not enough.

“He’s seven years old, so it was very scary,” she said. “It was nothing to take two seconds to clear that classroom.”

Wallace said she simply wants accountability and reassurance something like this won’t happen again.