Police: Pearland 11-year-old threatened to bring gun to school

SkyEye 13 HD was over the scene at Rogers Middle School in Pearland where police say an 11-year-old threatened to bring a gun to school.

  PEARLAND, TX (KTRK) -- A Pearland middle school student is facing charges for allegedly threatening to bring a gun to school.

Pearland police say on Wednesday evening, they received a report that a Rogers Middle School student had threatened to bring a gun to school Thursday. According to the person who made the report, the student made the threat because he had a 'bad day' on Wednesday.

Police interviewed other witnesses and then contacted the Brazoria County District Attorney's Office. Charges of 'Terroristic Threat' were filed against the suspect.

The 11-year-old was not allowed to attend school Thursday. He was detained by police and taken to the Brazoria County Juvenile Detention Facility in Angleton.
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Lawmaker may consider allowing some workers to bring weapons on campus

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Even as stores are restricting the sales of certain guns, some state leaders are calling for laws that allow school staff to carry guns on campus.

State Rep. Debbie Riddle says she would consider legislation that would allow teachers with a concealed carry license to take that gun into school but another state leaders says this debate seems to be cast in two extremes and there can be middle ground.

While in the classroom on Tuesday, teacher Elena Saner was thinking of the victims in Connecticut.

"I just wish I could hug them all and make everything better," Saner said.

For 26 years she's been at De Zavala Elementary, but the idea of anyone besides a police officer carrying a gun inside the school makes her uneasy.

"If teachers were to wield their guns, I think they would get in the way of first responders not knowing who the gunman is," she said.

Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson authored Texas' concealed handgun law in 1995 when he was a state senator. He suggests individuals who are comfortable and trained can provide defense at schools in light of the Sandy Hook shooter's actions.

"He was confronted by a principal and a counselor and he killed them. Had he been confronted by a principal who was competent with a firearm, we might have had a different outcome," Patterson said.

Patterson says that could mean more police officers, administrators or a teacher with a concealed handgun license -- but not everyone.

"You can't just go oh you are the principal, here is your gun," Patterson said.

Riddle says she will consider legislation that would allow a teacher with a concealed carry license to take the gun to school.

Saner believes there's a different way but that school security should always come first.

"Children are the backbone of our society," she said.

The topic is expected to heat up in Austin when the next legislative session begins in January.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Anderson wants to bring integrity back to DA's office

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Harris County will soon have a new District Attorney running the show after an election night stunner. Voters wanted change in the DA's office and decided to replace Pat Lykos. The vote turned out to be a landslide win for Republican challenger Mike Anderson.

Anderson does have another election to win in November and is not overlooking that. But he can't help but think ahead at least a little bit.

It was a quiet Tuesday night at Pat Lykos' election watch party.

"I just wasn't aggressive," she said.

Lykos, running for re-election, maintains she simply didn't work hard enough on politics to win the race.

"I was being a DA, not a politician," she said.

For Anderson, it was just the opposite.

"It's an honor to be standing in front of you," he said Tuesday night.

And on Wednesday we asked him to speak about the now defeated DA. We asked him what should the voters of Harris County thank Pat Lykos for?

"I think she came in at a time when the office was in real trouble and she did the best she could.I just don't think it worked out," said Anderson.

He will face a Democratic challenger in November, but if he wins he already has plans for immediate changes.

"First, I think it's important to get back integrity," Anderson said.

He wants to free up prosecutors to stop worrying about wins and losses and focus on justice, he will end the DWI divert program that pushes first-time offenders into treatment before trial, and stop the Lykos policy that prevented prosecutions of minor drug cases, even if it means an increased jail population.

"You don't make decisions based on jail population," he said.

The office is still under a special prosecutor's investigation over the now months-old grand jury probe and Anderson does not want to get in the way of it. However, he told us Wednesday he wants the probe to finish and if there was wrongdoing, for it to be punished.

It's not just philosophy he wants to change, he's already identified at least one member of the Lykos team not likely to be part of his office.

He does not see how Rachel Palmer, a prosecutor who took the Fifth during a grand jury probe, can continue if he takes over.

"I don't know how you can gain the public trust or regain the image you want to have in the public if you have someone in the office that the public believes committed a crime and just won't testify about it," Anderson said.

During the campaign, Anderson was accused of wanting to bring back a "win at all costs" DA's office. He doesn't agree and sees his brand of justice as a way to restore the integrity he wants crime victims and the accused to both see from the office.

"Take that oath for what it means and do justice. Justice sometimes means you dismiss a case, sometimes it means a guy gets the death penalty. It doesn't always mean either one. Everything is different and you have to have the freedom to use your experience to make the right call," he said.

We invited Pat Lykos to join us for an interview. She was at the office, but we were told she was too busy with work to conduct one.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Politics »

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Demolition crews bring down Houston skyscraper

  HOUSTON -- It didn't take long -- mere seconds, in fact -- to create a new hole in the skyline of the Texas Medical Center.

Demolition crews used high explosives to implode the 20-story former Prudential Building that had been a landmark of the district landscape southwest of downtown Houston since 1952.

The crews had planned initially to touch off the explosives shortly before 8 a.m. Sunday, but dense fog delayed the series of blasts until 11:15 a.m.

The Prudential Insurance Co. of America built the 500,000-square-foot skyscraper to serve as its southwest regional headquarters. The M.D. Anderson Cancer Center bought the building in 1974 and made it the center's main building in 1980 before vacating and closing the building in April 2010.

A master plan for the area calls for a new clinical building that will connect to the Duncan Building and Mays Clinic.

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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House bill aims to bring retired shuttle to Houston

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Exactly one week from Friday, NASA will launch Atlantis into orbit -- the final liftoff for the space shuttle program, ending three decades of adventures, unprecedented scientific advancements and space travel where no man has gone before.

And while preparations are underway for the Atlantis launch, the battle continues over what will become of the shuttles after retirement. Houston was snubbed when the announcement was made four months ago, but the fight is not over. Houston, there is still some hope. It's House Bill 1536, and it would override NASA's decision as to where the retired shuttles would go and it calls for Houston to get Endeavour. That legislation is still in committee on Capitol Hill, but some local leaders aren't waiting for a vote. As Atlantis sits on launch pad 39A ready for its final flight next week, the end of the shuttle program is near. But apparently, Houston's fight to be the permanent home of a retired orbiter is not over. "There are still efforts to get one of the operational orbiters back to Houston. I mean, again, Space City USA," Congressman Pete Olson said. At a space strategy forum Friday at Rice University, Olson said that, aside from legislation in congress, he is personally taking up the cause. "We deserve a space shuttle. Every single human being, every single one who's flown on a space shuttle has called Houston, Texas, home for three to five years," he said. It was 10 weeks ago that we learned Houston would not get one of four shuttles. Instead they went to the Smithsonian, to Kennedy Space Center, to California and to New York. It was just three weeks before that announcement that NASA Administrator Charles Bolden told Eyewitness News he'd prefer to see Houston get one. "If I were not the NASA administrator then I would say that the places that ought to get an orbiter are Houston and the Cape -- any place that played a vital role in the development and the design of the space shuttle," Bolden said on March 23. And since that did not happen, Olson plans a face to face meeting with Bolden soon to find out exactly how the decision was made -- and how to change it. "No one deserves it more than Houston, Texas," Olson said. Olson was among several lawmakers to send a letter to Bolden questioning the choices. Olson says Bolden has responded to the letter and they do plan to meet, though the congressman admits this fight is an uphill battle. (Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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Diamond Dazzle Stik - Bring out the Bling

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