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AUSTIN, Texas - Austin police arrested a former Bowie High School student at gunpoint on campus outside the Fine Arts building. School officials say the former student was trespassing, and out of an abundance of caution, there were extra officers and counselors on campus Tuesday, Sept. 5.
"When I see a video posted to social media of footage of guns drawn feet from children, my mind goes to all that could have gone wrong in a scenario like that," parent Marie Leann said.
Bowie principal Mark Robinson said in a letter to families that no weapons were found, nor did the person make any threats. He goes on to say the campus was, and remains, safe.
If your child saw what happened and needs support, reach out to their counseling team.
Parents share their reactions.
"That notice stated, ‘our campus was and remains safe,’ but there's a mismatch in those words and what I witnessed in that video, so that is not my definition of safe," Leann said. "I believe that the district at this point needs to conduct a safety review."
"It takes eyes from everybody, and I think it worked very well in this particular situation. Could it have been faster? I don't know, I wasn't there, but they did what they needed to do," Sharon, who didn't want to provide her last name, said.
David Kauffman, AISD Board Trustee for the district Bowie is in, says situations like this are a balancing act of communication and privacy, plus the role of professionals and responding to parents' concerns.
"There has a been a situation at Bowie in the last couple of weeks where there was an individual on social media making specific threats about what they're going to do at this school," he said. "It's clear to me the district is doing what they need to do right now which is to look back and reexamine, how did we respond to this, what could be improved, what was effective... I also understand the incredible importance of communication."
Austin police provided the following information:
"On September 4, 2023, at approximately 6:40 p.m. Austin Police Department (APD) Officers responded to a trespass urgent call in the 4100 block of W Slaughter Ln. A juvenile was arrested in connection to this incident.
By law, information pertaining to juveniles is confidential and not releasable, therefore, we are unable to provide any information regarding the identity or specifics of this individual."
AISD provided the following statement:
"FERPA protects the disclosure of personally identifiable information (PII) of a student, and Districts may not share information with the public. The District prioritizes student and staff safety and will continue to take proactive measures to keep all schools safe.
We encourage our community to report suspicious behavior of any kind to Austin ISD police at 512-414-1703 so they may investigate, and we can work together to keep our campus safe."