Parents in Mesquite are voicing safety concerns after a 19-year-old entered Horn High School with a gun and sexually assaulted a student. That man is now behind bars. Alicia Barrera followed up with police and has the latest.
A 19-year-old man from Seagoville is charged with aggravated sexual assault after police say he entered Mesquite Horn High School armed with a weapon and assaulted a teenage girl in a bathroom.
Mesquite police arrested Synniaz Elijah Tuesday night at about 9:45 at his home in Seagoville. According to police, a current student opened a door to allow Elijah to enter the high school on Tuesday afternoon.
“Exterior doors are locked for a reason. There are only two authorized entrances for visitors to enter Horn High School,” a spokesperson for Mesquite ISD said in a statement. “All exterior doors are checked four times every day by campus staff to ensure they are locked and closing properly. There are three full-time School Resource Officers and three security guards on campus every day.”
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Once inside, police said Elijah sought out a teenage girl he had a previous dating relationship with.
“Once inside, the suspect located the victim ... he assaulted her and used a weapon to force her into a bathroom, where the sexual assault occurred,” a press release from Mesquite police said.
Police have not determined how long the armed man was on campus. However, they said Elijah took off running after a teacher realized he was not a student.
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“The teacher promptly reported the incident to our School Resource Officer (SRO), who immediately responded,” Mesquite ISD said.
Parents told NBC 5 they are concerned about transparency as they were not notified until nearly 24 hours after the sexual assault. Mesquite ISD confirmed they sent a message to campus staff and “all contacts of John Horn High School students” after 2 p.m. on Wednesday.
“We understand timely communication is very important to parents and the community, and we are committed to being open and transparent,” Mesquite ISD said. “However, we must carefully balance this commitment with our responsibility to support law enforcement and ensure we do not jeopardize an ongoing investigation. In this instance, our school resources officers quickly assessed the situation and determined no ongoing threat to students or staff; therefore, we prioritized confirming accurate details and coordinating with police before sending a notification to JHHS families.”
Some parents have also questioned why the school was not locked down if someone was trespassing.
"Anytime there is a concern for student and staff safety, we follow a standard response protocol. A lockdown is called when there is a threat or hazard inside the building," a spokesperson for the school district said in an email. "In this case, when a teacher stopped and questioned the unauthorized individual, he immediately fled the campus. SROs quickly assessed the situation and determined there was no ongoing threat to students or staff."
Police said the investigation is ongoing to determine if the suspect acted alone.
“We currently have investigators reviewing any and all footage available along with any communication that the suspect could have used to communicate,” a spokesperson for the police department said in an email to NBC 5.
It’s unclear if the student who allegedly opened the door for the suspect will face criminal charges or school district disciplinary action.
“The investigation could lead to charges later on, but there are no charges at this time for the other student,” Mesquite Police said.
“We are extremely saddened and disappointed that, in this instance, one of our students chose to allow an individual he knew was not a student to enter the campus by opening a locked exterior door. Due to legal privacy restrictions, we are unable to share specific details of disciplinary action applied in this instance, but any student who violates safety procedures, such as allowing unauthorized entry, will face severe disciplinary action,” Mesquite ISD said.
