His defense attorney argued that he never posed a real threat to his school, and it wasn’t unusual for him to wear tactical gear as clothing.
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio teen accused of planning an attack on an SAISD school appeared in court on Wednesday for a third time, asking to be released into the custody of his grandmother.
The 13-year-old child’s defense attorney said he was arrested outside of Rhodes Middle School wearing tactical gear, but argued that wasn’t unusual because he regularly wore such clothing. He also tried to make the case the boy never posed a real threat to his school.
The boy’s grandmother appeared at the hearing and told the court she was willing to take responsibility for her grandson.
The judge ruled that the minor will remain in custody, and scheduled his next court date for June 26. That is also the deadline for prosecutors to present all evidence in the case.
The teen’s mother, 33-year-old Ashley Pardo, also faces charges after allegedly buying him ammo and tactical gear as he planned the shooting. At a May 30 hearing, a judge amended her bond conditions so she could return to work, but she is still not allowed to contact her son. She’s also forbidden from contacting any schools, including colleges and universities.
What we know about the case
A San Antonio Police Department detective first contacted the boy in January over “concerning drawings” of Rhodes Middle School, including a map labeled “suicide route,” the affidavit says. The student reportedly wrote out the name of the school with a muzzle flash drawn above it, along with time stamps.
Later, in April, he was suspended after he used his school-issued computer to allegedly research two New Zealand mosque shootings that left more than 50 dead in 2019. He was briefly assigned to an alternative school before returning to Rhodes in early May.
School officials implemented a security plan upon his return due to continuing concerns of targeted mass violence, according to arrest records.
Meanwhile, the student had been staying at his grandmother’s home off and on due to his behavior, authorities reported. Last month, she contacted law enforcement “over concerns in regards to items she found in her home” belonging to the boy.
She told detectives she had found him “hitting a live bullet with a hammer and stopped him.” The affidavit says he admitted he got the ammunition from his mother, who had been taking him to a surplus store and bought him tactile gear in exchange for babysitting his younger siblings.
The grandmother told detectives that, on the morning before going to school, he told her he was “going to be famous” and made mention of “14 words”—a detail that detectives said was a reference to white supremacy writings. He was picked up by his mother and left to school.
Upon searching the student’s room, arrest documents say, the relative found the magazines loaded with live ammo. She also allegedly discovered the improvised explosive device using a mortar-style firework wrapped in duct tape, an alteration the affidavit says was meant to make the device “hold more pressure than its design, causing a larger explosive force.”
His mother, 33-year-old Ashley Pardo, was made aware of the threats made by her son and had been in contact with police, CPS and school personnel. But, detectives said in the affidavit, she “expressed to the school her support” of her son’s “violent expressions and drawings,” and wasn’t concerned by them.
Pardo faces a charge of aiding in commission of terrorism after officials said she helped her son gather items found to have been used in other acts of mass violence. She was released from jail on a $75,000 bond.