San Antonio Middle Schooler Sentenced for School Shooting Plot

Back in May, San Antonio police arrested a 13-year-old boy who showed up at Rhodes Middle School in a mask, camouflage jacket, and tactical pants. He didn’t carry out the attack, but what investigators found later made it clear how close the school came to being the next headline. At his grandmother’s home, police discovered loaded magazines, an improvised explosive device wrapped in duct tape and scrawled with white supremacist slogans, and a handwritten list of mass shooters and their victim counts.

This wasn’t just the case of a troubled kid slipping through the cracks. It was a case where his mother, 33-year-old Ashley Pardo, allegedly played an active role. She is accused of buying him tactical gear, ammunition, and military-style clothing in exchange for babysitting his younger siblings. Investigators say she was repeatedly warned by school officials, law enforcement, and child protective services but brushed off every red flag.

Pardo is currently facing a terrorism-related charge and is under partial house arrest. On top of that, she was re-arrested in August after a photo surfaced showing her pointing a shotgun at her infant daughter. Her husband has his own pending charges for pointing a pistol at a child. Taken together, the household reads like a case study in dysfunction, violence, and casual cruelty.

That background makes what happened in juvenile court on September 12 all the more important.

The boy entered a plea of “true” to engaging in delinquent conduct, which covered both the school plot and an unrelated arson case. In return, prosecutors dropped the terrorism charge. His defense team and grandmother pushed for him to serve probation at home, but the state argued that his history of trauma made it unsafe and inadequate. Judge William “Cruz” Shaw agreed, sentencing him to two years of probation that will begin in a secured residential facility with intensive therapy.

When the time comes for his release, the teen will be placed under strict conditions: a curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., mandatory school attendance with no unexcused absences, ongoing counseling, 100 hours of community service, random drug testing, and random searches of his room, person, and electronics. He must provide all social media passwords, avoid posting illegal activity online, and stay away from Rhodes Middle School entirely. He is barred from having weapons, ammunition, explosives, and even lighters or matches. One arson count was waived, and a possession of a prohibited weapon charge was dismissed as part of the arrangement.

Judge Shaw told him directly that he had made progress during his detention and encouraged him to continue his recovery. He also reminded him that while he would eventually go home, “just not today.”

On paper, this is a reasonable outcome. It acknowledges the severity of what he planned, it avoids writing him off entirely at 13, and it provides a structure for both rehabilitation and accountability. My hope is that this structured environment gives him a chance to reset before it’s too late. But I can’t ignore the reality of his home life. His mother and stepfather are both facing felony charges for putting children in danger, and his grandmother, though well-meaning, may not be able to enforce the level of discipline and supervision he needs.

That’s what worries me. While the court order lays out a clear path forward, I fear that once he’s out of the secured facility, he may see probation as nothing more than a waiting game. And if nothing changes in his environment, biding his time may just mean preparing for something worse down the road.

(Sources)