Foiled School Shooting In Texas Highlights Limits Of School Safety Without Parental Support

The arrest of a Texas mother accused of aiding her 13-year-old son in planning a mass attack has reignited debate over the boundaries of school safety — and the critical role families play in preventing violence.

Ashley Pardo, 33, was arrested Monday and charged with aiding in the commission of terrorism. Authorities allege she supplied her son with ammunition and tactical gear, despite repeated warnings from school officials about the teens disturbing behavior. The boy, a former student at Rhodes Middle School in San Antonio, had previously been suspended, created violent drawings, and researched mass shootings. A safety plan was even put in place after a suicide attempt.

Despite those red flags, investigators say Pardo enabled her son, who allegedly had a detailed plan for what they now describe as “mass targeted violence” aimed at the school.

Steve Webb, a police officer and nationally recognized school safety expert, says the case reveals the serious limits of what schools can do when broader support systems break down.

“Rhodes Middle School followed protocol. They saw the signs, acted quickly, and still came within inches of tragedy — because the support system at home completely failed,” said Webb, author of “Education in a Violent World.”

Webb, founder of Safe School Systems and one of the few Certified Social Media Intelligence Experts trained in AICE (Alert, Inform, Counter, Evacuate), argues that this case illustrates the need for comprehensive behavioral threat assessments that go beyond the school building. While many schools have procedures in place to intervene with at-risk students, those efforts are undermined when warning signs are ignored by caregivers.

When parents become enablers, especially, law enforcement partnerships and community-based threat response teams become more important than ever, Webb says.

The case has drawn national attention as an example of how gaps in intervention strategies — especially when families are unwilling or unable to cooperate — can leave schools vulnerable.