A 10th grader was arrested, and parents say district messages regarding the lockdown didn’t match reality.
SAN ANTONIO — New video reveals the chaos inside Clark High School moments before the campus went on lockdown Friday afternoon.
Students can be seen screaming and sprinting out of the cafeteria as police chased down a student suspect. More students were spotted running across De Zavala Road to nearby fast food restaurants.
The lockdown began around noon after reports of a suspicious person in the parking lot who may have had a weapon.
In an e-mail to parents, the principal of Clark High School said the campus was first placed on “secure” status as a precaution. When Northside ISD police confronted a person matching the description, that individual ran, prompting a short pursuit. Both Clark and neighboring Locke Hill Elementary were placed on full lockdown until the suspect was detained.
Administrators stressed no weapon was ever found on the student or on campus, and no shots were fired.
District officials later confirmed the suspect was a 10th grade student at Clark. He is charged with evading arrest and detention.
For parents like Nina Gribben, whose son attends Clark, the district’s message didn’t match what her family was experiencing.
“We were trying to help our son feel a little better about being there,” Gribben explained. “We said, ‘Look, they said everything’s fine and you should be off lockdown.’ He said, ‘That’s not what’s happening.’”
Her son sent videos from inside the cafeteria, showing classmates running as officers chased the suspect past startled students.
“You can see them in the background, just all running, screaming,” Gribben recalled.
Her husband later arrived to find dozens of students off campus.
“[My son] ended up over at the Chick-fil-A with a bunch of other kids,” she said. “When my husband tried to pick him up, there were kids all over the street on De Zavala. They were all over Wendy’s in the parking lot.”
Gribben’s husband estimates at least 15 students were at Chick-fil-A and another 15 at the neighboring Wendy’s.
Because the incident happened during lunch, administrators say some students chose to leave campus when they saw peers running out. NISD officials told KENS 5 that the Clark principal saw students crossing the street and that a school administrator and counselor followed them to try and calm fears.
Gribben said she called the school to raise concerns about communication.
“I was told, ‘Oh, the schedule is normal. We had an incident earlier but we’re back to normal schedule,’” Gribben explained. “I said, ‘Well that’s interesting because my son is not there and you have no idea.’”
“When I mentioned, ‘Do you understand there’s a bunch of people’s kids all over De Zavala?’ [the vice principal] said, ‘We’re aware.’”
Gribben added that while her son is “quiet, but okay,” he has already made a plan for how he’ll protect himself if an emergency happens again.
“We’re trusting these schools with our children, and in light of everything that’s been happening over the course of the last few years, I think the least we deserve is to know the truth,” Gribben said. “Parents want to help. Parents want to be involved, but we want to know what’s going on with our kids.”
Northside ISD said counselors are available for students and staff. The principal said the district will debrief with police to review what happened and identify ways to improve safety protocols.