Private school coach accused of bringing gun to school, threatening principal
TOMBALL, Texas (KTRK) -- A coach and teacher at Concordia Lutheran High School in Tomball is accused of bringing a handgun to school and threatening the principal on Tuesday.
Mark Davis, who is listed on the private school's website as a social studies and theology teacher, made an initial court appearance Wednesday morning.
According to the court appearance, Davis was apparently unhappy because he thought the principal gave him a bad reference for a coaching job at a different school.
Davis allegedly told another employee at the school on Tuesday that he had a gun in his classroom. In addition, he told that same person he was going to buy a rifle and bring it to school.
Prosecutors say Davis also said he was upset because he felt Concordia's head baseball coach discriminated against him and did not give him the assistant baseball coach job.
"When a story comes out like this there is always going to be false accusations," said Bradley Roeske, one of a number of students who defended Davis online and in person. "He was overall just an amazing great guy, he just made a dumb mistake, but he never had any negative intentions toward the whole incident."
Watch: Details of the charges against Davis are read in probable cause court.
In the charging documents, law enforcement also said that Davis allegedly told a witness that he had a gun to protect students. The gun was found in his bag, in the second floor classroom of Concordia Lutheran. Law enforcement says it had seven bullets in the magazine, but none in the chamber.
Davis is facing a felony charge of carrying a prohibited weapon in a prohibited place, and a misdemeanor charge of threatening or exhibiting a firearm at a school. He was given a $50,000 bond on the felony charge. The judge also ordered him to stay 1,000 feet away from the Concordia school, revoked his concealed carry license, and requested an ankle monitor.
Court records show Davis posted bond late Wednesday afternoon, but he won't be returning to the classroom anytime soon.
Davis was placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation by Concordia Lutheran High School.
A statement was posted to the school's Facebook page:
There was an incident at our school yesterday involving an instructor, Mr. Davis, who was illegally in possession of a firearm in his classroom. Mr. Davis teaches U.S. History and World Geography. Texas law is clear on this issue and we take incidents like this very seriously.
As soon as this information was brought to our attention, we took immediate action. In addition to criminal charges, Mr. Davis has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation. We are cooperating fully with law enforcement in all aspects of this matter. Due to federal and state law, the information we can share at this time is limited. We will provide further information as needed; however, we felt it was important to share what we could in order to manage and dispel rumor and speculation.
Please know the safety and security of our students, our teachers and staff, and our community remains at the forefront of everything we do at Concordia Lutheran High School.
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