Texas City HS student steps in when teen threatens to 'shoot up school'
TEXAS CITY, Texas (KTRK) -- A Texas City high school student said he intervened in a potentially dangerous situation on campus and the school punished him as a result.
His family said they fought the district about the suspension. They appealed the punishment because they believe the teenager did the right thing.
Police arrested a 15-year-old student for a felony. They charged him with making a terroristic threat on April 22.
Raith Allemand, 17, said the student's arrest stemmed from an incident during gym class in which a group was playing basketball. Allemand said the 15-year-old became angry and threatened violence.
"He started talking about killing us," said Allemand. "Everybody started coming up on him. He started saying he'll shoot up the gym, shoot up the school. I went up to him and said, 'You're not going to kill me. It's not going to happen.'"
Allemand said he then held the teenager down, fearful of his actions, and waited for teachers to intervene in the situation. His father, Mike Allemand, said he is proud of his son's actions.
The father said the school wanted his son to go to an alternative school as a result of his actions.
"He did the right thing by holding the student down instead of hurting him," said Allemand. "He chose not to fight but to stop it. I was very proud of him for that. He turned himself into a hero. That was awesome and then he got in trouble for it."
The dad said on Tuesday, the school's principal called him.
He said his son will be allowed back on campus on Wednesday and no disciplinary measures will be listed on his record.
Meanwhile, Texas City ISD released a statement to Eyewitness News, disputing the family's account of the incident.
"He was threatened with discipline because he overstepped his place when teachers were handling a verbal altercation. Coaches were present in the gym and deescalating the situation. When the one student made a general threat, the other decided to bypass a coach, approach the other student and engage him which led to a physical altercation. However, had the student stayed where coaches told the others to be, there would not have been a physical altercation. The other student never went for his backpack across the gym. Nor was there anything in his backpack to harm others. The other student was arrested and charged with a terroristic threat."
