Eastwood HS students react to student arrested for allegedly taking gun to school

An Eastwood High School student was arrested for allegedly having a gun on campus and now students are reacting to the situation.

“I was shocked, surprised that somebody bought a gun to school,” Jasmin Valencia said. “That was the first time it’s ever happened.”

“I wasn’t scared. Honestly, I knew it was going to get handled either way,” Alex Cervantes said.

Ysleta Independent School District officials said within five minutes of Eastwood students reporting to security that a classmate had a weapon, that student was located, searched and an unloaded handgun was found in his backpack. They did not say if ammunition was found on the student or nearby. He now faces criminal charges and 6 months expulsion.

The district said they handled the situation the best and fastest way possible, including notifying all district parents via the automated telephone system. However, some parents ABC-7 spoke with said they weren’t notified quick enough, if at all, and they’re surprised the school wasn’t placed on lockdown.

YISD Associate Superintendent of Operations Pat O’Neill said the situation reminds parents why it’s so important to have up-to-date contact information with your student’s school.

“If they didn’t get the phone call, maybe it’s because that number isn’t current. So what I recommend is that they reach out to Eastwood High School. In fact, all the parents in YISD, reach out to the school. Make sure your contact information is up to date,” O’Neill said.

Even though students ABC-7 spoke with said they learned what happened from their parents rather than school officials, Cervantes said he’s happy things weren’t any worse.

“They handled it very well, very quickly. Nobody was hurt,” Cervantes said.

District officials will debrief how the security situation was handled to see if any procedural changes need to be made in the future.