I bet you were expecting me to discuss the 4th of July mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois. Trust me, I will get to that. I’m waiting for a few details to become public. Hopefully, I won’t take a month to get around to that like I have been lately.
Speaking of which, this past May, a quartet of high school students were arrested for allegedly planning a shooting at their high School. The school in question is Donna High School in Donna, Texas. Two of the students arrested were juveniles and have not been named. The other two students who were arrested are 17-year-olds Nathaniel Montelongo and Barbarito Pantoja. I don’t know why Montelongo and Pantoja were specifically identified, but an inmate search makes it appear as if the pair have been charged as adults. I can’t confirm that, but that’s what my gut is telling me.
Local police received a tip on the same day as the Uvalde shooting. Donna is roughly 300 miles south and east from Uvalde.
The following day, local police conducted an interview with Montelongo at the school. During the interview, Montelongo is said to have admitted to the plot which was supposed to take place on June 3rd, which was the last day of school. He also told police that he, Pantoja, and one of the juveniles intended to shoot multiple people at the school. I haven’t seen it mentioned if they had specific targets in mind, but I highly doubt it. Police even said there was no ‘hit list’.
Meanwhile, Pantoja was taken to the Donna Police Department where he is said to have not only corroborated Montelongo’s story, but implicated a fourth student’s involvement as well.
When police searched Pantoja’s home, they reportedly found documentation detailing the plan. However, the real find when it came to police search warrants was at one of the juvenile student’s home. It was there police found an AK-47 rifle.
Now, before we go any further, allow me to elaborate on the supposed AK-47 that was found. If I leave it at ‘an AK-47 was found’, some gun nerd is going to chime in with…
Actually, it can’t be an AK-47 because AK-47s were only used by the Soviet Army. Plus, the AK-47 has a fully automatic mode, which is illegal in the United States.
First of all, stop being a pedant. No one cares. Second of all, even if it’s an American variant of the Kalashnikov, it can still fire rounds at a pretty good rate in semi-automatic mode, and can be used with high-capacity magazines.
There was no word on whom the gun actually belonged to in the home, but this is Texas. It could have belonged to the family dog for all we know.
Both Montelongo and Pantoja are being held on $750,000 bond, and a request to reduce their bond has been denied.
I haven’t seen a motive for this alleged plot yet, but I’m reasonably sure it’s nothing we haven’t heard before.
Again, if you’re mad at your situation, be original. Do something about it that doesn’t require violence. All these shooters and would-be shooters think they’re so much smarter than everyone else, yet their first thought is to arm themselves with the coward’s weapon of choice. If you’re so smart, prove it by not only doing something non-violent to help yourself, but help others too. Not only are guns for cowards, they’re a cop-out.
(Sources)
Real Crime with Trench Reynolds 