Warning signs that a San Antonio middle school student had deadly intentions had been building for months, police say. They took on a new urgency Saturday when his grandmother walked into his bedroom.
There, she found rifle and pistol magazines “loaded with live ammunition” and a homemade explosive, according to a court document.
The following morning, while the boy’s mother took him to school, the grandmother called the police.
The mother, Ashley Pardo, 33, was arrested Monday and charged with aiding in the commission of terrorism. Authorities allege she provided her son with ammunition and tactical gear as payment for babysitting his younger siblings.
Pardo bought the materials despite being aware of her son’s obsession with violence, according to a Bexar County arrest affidavit obtained by CNN affiliate KSAT. The affidavit alleges that Pardo “intentionally and knowingly aided” her son.
“The Defendant expressed to the school her support of (her son’s) violent expressions and drawings and does not feel concerned for his behavior,” the affidavit says.
The alleged plot placed people at his school “in further fear of serious bodily injury,” an investigator wrote.
The boy went to school May 12 “wearing a mask, camouflage jacket and tactical pants,” then left shortly afterwards, according to the affidavit. When authorities couldn’t locate him, school officials feared he might return to carry out an attack, the affidavit says. Extra security was put in place, including deploying additional police officers and sweeping the campus for potential devices, authorities said.
The student was later detained off-campus and charged with a crime, Jeremiah Rhodes Middle School said in a Monday letter to parents.
“Please know we take all potential threats seriously and act immediately to protect everyone in our care,” the school’s principal said in the letter. “We will always remain vigilant to ensure our learning and working environment is safe and secure. Student safety is a top priority at SAISD schools, and we want to keep families informed of situations as soon as we are able.”
CNN has reached out to the San Antonio Police Department for more information. Court records for juvenile cases are not publicly available, and the child’s name has not been released.
No one was hurt in this case, but the threat of deadly violence is a reality that hangs over US schools every day.
As of the beginning of May, there have been 18 school shootings in the US this year, including on college campuses, resulting in six deaths. Texas, the nation’s second most populous state, has had the most school shootings, with at least 63 since 2008. That includes the Robb Elementary School massacre in Uvalde, about 80 miles from San Antonio, where an 18-year-old former student killed 21 people in 2022 before being fatally shot by law enforcement.
In recent years, authorities have shown more willingness to hold parents criminally accountable for the violent actions of children if they ignored warnings and helped obtain weapons. The parents of Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley were convicted of manslaughter last year for buying the weapon used in the shooting and failing to secure it, despite concerns about Crumbley’s mental health. They are not eligible for parole until 2031.
The father of a 14-year-old suspect in Georgia is facing second-degree murder charges for alleged “criminal negligence” in a school shooting last year, killing four people. Colin Gray and his son Colt have both entered not guilty pleas in the case, which is set to go to trial later this year.
San Antonio parents this week expressed concern that the boy whose mother was arrested had been allowed back to the school despite earlier warning signs.
“I would have hoped they would have done something else with that and not let him back,” Rena Chase told CNN affiliate KSAT. “He doesn’t need to be anywhere near a school, period.”
Mother accused of “facilitating” son’s violent thoughts
Prado’s “refusal to see (her son’s) concerning behavior and her assistance in gathering items for him that have been found to have been used in other acts of mass targeted violence, it is believed she is facilitating the (boy’s) desire to carry out his threats,” authorities said in the affidavit.
Pardo’s bond was set at $75,000, and she was released from Bexar County Jail Tuesday after posting bail, county records show. Magistrate Marilisa Janssen ordered Pardo to be confined to her home with GPS monitoring and prohibited her from possessing firearms or incendiary devices. Her next court appearance is set for July 17. She has requested a court-appointed attorney.
CNN has reached out to Pardo and the public defender’s office for comment.
Rhodes Middle School in San Antonio, Texas. – KSAT
The student’s grandmother told police that Pardo had recently bought him tactical gear, including magazines, a tactical vest capable of concealing ballistic plates, a tactical helmet and army clothing, according to the court document.
The incendiary device, described as a “mortar-style firework,” had “For Brenton Tarrant” written on it, police said. Tarrant is a White supremacist who shot and killed 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019. Authorities also noted that the device included the phrase “14 words” and “SS” symbols, all associated with White supremacist ideology.
The boy’s grandmother also found a handwritten note with what appeared to be the names of mass shooters and the number of victims from each shooting, the affidavit said. On Monday morning, before going to school, he told her he was “going to be famous” and referenced “14 words,” she told police.
Student had history of interest in shootings, police say
This was not the first time school officials had been concerned with the boy’s behavior.
In January, school staff found concerning drawings from the student that included a map labeled “suicide route,” the school’s name written with a rifle, and several timestamps, according to the affidavit. When questioned, the student “described a fascination with past mass shooters, including their manifestos,” the affidavit said.
About a month ago, the boy was suspended for using a school-issued computer to research the New Zealand mosque shootings, according to the affidavit. Later that day, police say he tried to kill himself with a straight razor, resulting in injuries that required over 100 stitches.
The student attended an alternative school in April, according to the affidavit. When he returned to Rhodes Middle School in May, officials implemented a security plan due to ongoing concerns about potential targeted violence, the affidavit states.
He had been spending time at his grandmother’s home “due to his behavior and threats toward a local school,” the document says, but he did not live there.
“It has been expressed to the Defendant the concerns of her child’s expression and desire to commit acts of mass violence,” the affidavit said about Pardo.
CNN has reached out to the school and the San Antonio Independent School District for comment.
Editor’s note: If you or someone you know needs help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 800-273-8255. You can also reach a crisis counselor by messaging the Crisis Text Line at 741741.
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