The school bus threat happened the evening of April 11. Parents of the 9-year-old heard from the school district about the incident on April 15.
NIXON, Texas — The parents of a Nixon girl, whose life was threatened by a 10-year-old boy a couple weeks ago, have lost trust in the school district.
“Someone’s dropping the ball as to why procedures aren’t being followed,” said John Perez, father of the 9-year-old girl who attends elementary school at Nixon-Smiley CISD.
The girl’s mother, Samantha, recalled the scary situation she first learned about through her daughter who was on a school bus headed to basketball practice the evening of April 11.
“It was said that the little boy had previously killed somebody so my daughter had asked and the little boy said yeah well do you want me to shoot you,” Samantha said.
The Perez family urged their daughter to report the incident to school officials the following day. Meanwhile, they weren’t informed officially by district staff until Monday afternoon.
“At least by Friday I should have known something. I don’t need details of the other student. I need to know if my kid is in danger,” Samantha said.
The Gonzales County Sheriff’s Office published a press release on April 18 explaining how deputies responded to the school bus threat involving the 10-year-old boy.
Authorities connected the boy’s statement about killing a man two years ago to 32-year-old Brandon O’Quinn Rasberry.
According to investigators, the boy admitted he didn’t know Rasberry, but shot and killed him as he was sleeping in his RV while visiting his grandfather in 2022.
The boy faces a Terroristic Threat charge but no murder charge since he was 7 years old when Rasberry died. Texas law states juveniles under 10 at the time of the offense cannot be held criminally liable.
“Kind of in shock at first. And kind of really didn’t sit in until the following morning that hey this is pretty serious,” John said.
The Perez’s sat down with the Nixon-Smiley CISD superintendent and elementary school principal on April 24.
The parents said the superintendent and principal acknowledged that they should have called them sooner regarding the school bus incident.
“He could basically say that procedures will be followed in the future. How can I be assured that procedures will be followed going forward,” John said.
Jeff Van Auken, Nixon-Smiley CISD superintendent, provided an emailed statement detailing the district’s plans for the future:
“At Nixon-Smiley CISD, our top priority is the safety and well-being of both our students and staff. In the event of a reported threat, our campus leaders follow established protocols to ensure the immediate safety of everyone under our care. We work closely with multiple agencies to assess the situation and determine the best course of action, with the aim of gaining insight and improving our response to future incidents. We value parent feedback and are committed to strengthening our support for students and families.”
As for what’s next, the Perez family plan to make their voices heard during a school board meeting in May.
“Bring the subject to light, see what’s going on, see where the failure is because these are our kids that they have in their hands,” John said.
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