A mother dropping off her child at Deer Park Elementary in Deer Park, Texas, Thursday morning apparently didn’t like the way another mom was driving.
When she confronted the other mom, the second woman responded by pulling a gun on the woman complaining, according to KPRC TV.
“(The mom) got out of her car banged on the windows, said ‘You’re speeding in a school zone, you almost ran me over once you need to start doing better,’ and you know so one mom’s yelling at one mom and the mom in the car pulls out a gun and says ‘Back off.’”
Both of the moms’ children were in their respective cars at the time of the incident. No one was injured and the gun was not fired ― which is good, considering the drop-off zone is supposed to be gun-free.
Police were called to the scene, but no arrests were made.
Still the incident was scary enough that Deer Park Elementary School Principal Lisa McLaughlin felt obliged to send the following letter to parents:
Dear Parent/Guardian,
I’m writing to inform you of an incident involving two parents that took place in the drop-off lane at Deer Park Elementary this morning. As students were being dropped off before school this morning, the two parents were involved in a disagreement. The confrontation escalated, ending with one parent pointing a firearm at the other. Other parents witnessed the disagreement, and the police were contacted and quickly arrived on the scene.
Unfortunately, children were in both of the vehicles involved, and students were present in other nearby vehicles as well. No one was injured in the incident. In fact, the weapon was never used. But what should have been a reasonably safe drop-off process quickly became a police investigation.
At our school, teaching students the skills and knowledge they need to be successful in life is our goal and purpose. But we don’t just teach language arts or science or mathematics or fine arts. We also teach children the appropriate way to resolve conflicts. It’s not unusual for there to be disagreements between students at our school, but we always encourage children to seek a peaceful end to the conflict.
At one time or another, we’ve all experienced frustration while driving. But, as our students know all too well, it’s never a good idea to react when emotions are high. My hope is that we can all look at what happened this morning and reconsider how we deal with disagreements and anger in our lives. Conflicts such as the one that took place this morning have no place at our school. Keeping our schools safe for our children and community is our highest priority, but we can’t do it alone. It takes all of us being aware of our surroundings, reporting suspicious activities, and using good judgment and restraint when disagreements arise.
Staff members are trained through the Crisis Prevention Institute, giving them the ability to intervene using specific techniques to de-escalate a crisis situation. In this way, we are able to assure the Care, Welfare, Safety and Security for all students and staff at our school. I have included a crisis prevention resource at the link below.
In closing, I want to thank you in advance for doing your part to keep Deer Park Elementary a place where our students feel safe and secure.
Sincerely,
Lisa McLaughlin
Principal, Deer Park Elementary
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