Mom: School did nothing to protect son after attack

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Parents of a HISD elementary student stabbed at school claim the district has made it worse by dragging its feet in finding him a new school.

Joshua Walker, 10, was stabbed with a pencil by a female classmate at Law Elementary in southeast Houston on March 13. The fourth grader described the girl as "big and strong." He says they were playing around. He admits to grabbing a photograph from her desk and she grabbed a pencil.

"She ran up to me with a pencil like that and it just went (sound effect) and I looked at it and blood started coming through the shirt and everybody started crowding around me and I told everybody to move," Joshua said of the puncture wound.

The injury is now healed but two weeks ago, the boy's father couldn't believe his eyes.

"I was shocked. It looked like the size of a dime or larger," described Charles Walker.

Joshua went to the nurse's office. His parents were called and they took him to the hospital.

As if the injury wasn't bad enough, his parents feel HISD hasn't been very responsive in finding him a new school. His mother withdrew him from Law Elementary the next school day after the attack.

"He's afraid. He's scared. He's actually scared," said Gwen Walker, Joshua's mother.

Only after Eyewitness News interviewed the Walkers and called HISD does the district now say it have a spot for Joshua at Cornelius Elementary. Joshua's mother says there's one big problem.

"He's missed the STAAR test," she said.

That's a state-mandated grade assessment test. The parents and Joshua don't know what will happen.

"I'm worried about the STAAR test because I don't want to repeat the fourth grade," said Joshua.

Joshua's mother tells Eyewitness News the administrator who said they finally found a place for him told her they'd work out his taking the STAAR test, but it might not be until summer. We have been in contact with an HISD spokeswoman since Thursday; however she hasn't been able to provide many answers because of the holiday break.