MESQUITE, Texas — Officers at Horn High School had a four-hour warning before a 19-year-old snuck into the school and allegedly sexually assaulted a student, an arrest affidavit obtained by WFAA revealed.
Mesquite Police arrested Synniaz Elijah Tuesday night on suspicion of aggravated sexual assault of a child. The affidavit said the victim's mother filed a harassment report against him with police and then went to school around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday morning to "let officers know that her daughter's ex-boyfriend had been threatening her and telling her that he was going to come to the school."
Around 2:30 p.m., Mesquite Police said Elijah, who is not a student at Horn HS, got into the school after a student let him in a side door, bypassing standard procedures for entry.
Once inside, the affidavit said, Elijah found the girl as she walked to class, slapped her, pulled out a kitchen knife and "said that he was going to stab her."
The victim told police Elijah forced her into the boys' bathroom and sexually assaulted her, according to the affidavit.
"Physically she’s okay, which we’re thankful for. But unfortunately, it’s probably going to be a long road because it was a very traumatic incident for her," said Mesquite Police Lieutenant Michael Kelly.
Following the assault, a teacher saw Elijah and attempted to identify him, but he ran away, eventually fleeing campus on a bike, the affidavit said.
Mesquite ISD said the campus has three school resource officers and three security guards on campus. A spokesperson said the district cannot comment on this specific security incident.
"Ensuring the security of our campuses is our top priority, and we will continue working closely with law enforcement to uphold the highest standards of safety for our school community," the district spokesperson said.
"I don’t believe it was a security failure. I believe it was a one-off cataclysm of events that led to this. Largely being the student allowing the suspect in," Kelly said.
He said he hopes students take notice -- and stop letting people in through the school's side door. "The more people consider this is a possibility, hopefully, that will make students more cautious," he said.
According to Mesquite PD, at about 9:45 p.m. Tuesday, police executed a search warrant at Elijah's home where he was found and taken into custody.
Police said he has been charged with aggravated sexual assault.
Mesquite ISD provided the following statement on the incident:
At approximately 2:30 PM on Tuesday, Nov. 12, a 19-year-old individual who is not a student at Horn High School gained unauthorized access to the building. A student who was known to this individual opened a locked exterior door, allowing him to enter the school. Once inside, the individual located another student with whom he was acquainted and assaulted them. We cannot share any additional details to protect the student’s privacy and ensure the integrity of the criminal investigation.
Within minutes, an observant teacher noticed this unauthorized individual in the hallway and quickly attempted to identify him as a student. At that point, the individual ran from the teacher and exited the building. The teacher promptly reported the incident to our School Resource Officer (SRO), who immediately responded. The Mesquite Police Department was able to identify the individual and he was arrested on multiple charges late Tuesday night.
Exterior doors are locked for a reason. There are only two authorized entrances for visitors to enter Horn High School. Any student who opens a door to an unauthorized person will face serious disciplinary action, as this compromises the security of our campus.
We are very grateful for the alert teacher who quickly recognized a potential security issue, our campus SROs, and the Mesquite Police Department for their immediate response. We are asking families to take this opportunity to talk to your children about the importance of immediately reporting any safety concerns to a teacher, administrator, SRO, or through our P3 Campus anonymous online reporting tool. If you see something, say something.
We want our Horn families to know that we share their concern that this individual was able to gain entry to the campus. MISD is committed to exceeding state safety and security standards, and we rely on the cooperation and commitment of our students to keep our campus secure.
Mesquite ISD said they're unable to share specific details about the disciplinary action taken and the district doesn't comment on police matters.