Big Changes At DISD Events After Weekend Basketball Game Shooting
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A 15-year-old student in the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) is accused of bringing a gun to a high school basketball game and opening fire, now administrators are making big safety changes.
It was just after 9 p.m. on January 11 at the Ellis Davis Field House. South Oak Cliff was taking on Kimball and the game was in the 4th quarter. It was then that a situation off the court came inside the arena.
"What started as a physical altercation at the basketball game last Saturday night... a fist-to-cuffs, turned into some gun violence," explained Superintendent Michael Hinojosa, at Monday morning press conference.
Shots rang out and when the smoke cleared an 18-year-old former DISD student and Dallas ISD police officer were both injured. The teen, who currently attends a charter school, is still hospitalized with "significant" injuries and the officer was grazed by a bullet. Investigators haven't released the names of either victim.
On Sunday police released a photo of three people of interest and hours later one of the young men in the photo, 1 15-year-old went to police headquarters with his mother and turned him. The boy is now charged with aggravated assault.
Saying that the school district cannot absolve itself of responsibility, Superintendent Hinojosa addressed the issue of school safety. He said the district currently doesn't have enough metal detectors to put in every school, but that hand wands would be used more stringently before and during games.
Hinojosa also said that, "Going forward we will implement some very significant changes to our protocol. Going forward there will be no bags or purses, or backpacks allowed in our stadiums."
Administrators say some of the new safety measures will be implemented as soon as tomorrow.
As for the incident this past weekend, the game was still in progress when shots were fired. "Going forward, we will finish the basketball game," Hinojosa said. "These are two historic programs. They've both won state championships. They're both in the top 20 in the state. There was 1:31 left in the game and that game will resume this afternoon at two o'clock."
This time the South Oak Cliff vs. Kimball game is closed to the pubic. Only students and parents will be allowed in.