Teen who allegedly shot at bullies at North Forest High appears in court

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Firing back at bullies lands a local high school student in jail. Now the teen tells a judge he was acting in self-defense when he shot at the people he claims have been tormenting him.

Incidents happen at schools all the time in Houston, but not all of them garner this kind of response. On Wednesday Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, who is leading the charge to keep North Forest ISD from closing, visited the high school one day after a 16-year-old student was shot in the leg. How the gun was slipped past metal detectors is still a mystery, but it's the second time it's happened this year.

"We are all concerned about the safety of the students and we're asking that school district do what they are doing, and that is to take this very seriously," Jackson Lee said.

North Forest High School student Warren Lewis, 18, faced a judge in court Wednesday morning for the first time. The teen's family says he had been bullied by three older students and was trying to defend himself when he brought the gun to school. It's still not clear how the gun was slipped past metal detectors there.

Prosecutors say on Tuesday after lunch, another student walked into Lewis' classroom and began questioning him about a confrontation that happened at lunch. The state says after the classroom argument, Lewis stepped out into the hallway and beckoned for the other student to fight him off campus.

Prosecutors say that's when the other student walked up to Lewis and began fighting him. Authorities say the fight ended when Lewis stopped fighting back and covered his face. The other student walked away and Lewis pulled out a small handgun from his backpack and shot, unintentionally striking a 16-year-old bystander, according to prosecutors.

On Wednesday morning, Lewis, an honors student, told the judge he was bullied, with students even showing up at his home. He says he feared for his life and his family.

"I have papers of them making reports for the longest... these same boys, they came by my house, sir," Lewis told the judge. "I'm in fear for my life and for my family's life."

"You should discuss that with your lawyer and see if that provides some sort of defense to the charge," replied the judge.

Lewis' mom says her son reported the bullies to the school more than once.

"He was so scared that he felt like he needed to protect himself because he said these boys carry guns and have been known to shoot people," said Lewis' mother, Yolanda Domino.

Lewis' mother apologized to the victim's family. The mother also said she and her son repeatedly reported the bullying to NFISD, both a written complaint and verbal complaints. The district says it has looked into the bullying accusations.

A spokesperson for North Forest ISD released a statement which read: "Regarding the claims by Mr. Lewis's mother that bullying of her son was reported to the North Forest School District, we can find no complaints filed either at the high school or the district police office about bullying of Mr. Lewis."

The school district is reviewing metal detector policies following the shooting. A district spokesperson said metal detector use was extended until 10am Wednesday.

Officials also say anything other than clear backpacks will now be banned from the high school. The school district is buying clear backpacks for all 1,285 high school students. They hope to have those purchased by next week.

The 16-year-old student's injuries are not life-threatening.

Lewis is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Bond has been set at $30,000.

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

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Teen shot at North Forest High School

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Parents of students at North Forest High School are demanding answers after a student managed to get a gun on campus, and shoot another student.

Shortly after 12:30pm Tuesday, a 16-year-old freshman was shot in an upstairs hallway at North Forest High School, and 18-year-old Warren Lewis was arrested on an aggravated assault charge, according to the North Forest Independent School District.

Lewis' family says he is an honor student, class king and has an after-school job. Even the principal says he's a good kid. Now, he's an accused criminal and North Forest ISD officials scrambling to find out what happened.

Student Keionna White was in class and heard the shots.

"All I heard was, like, just three shots. That's it," she said. "It was like firecrackers."

Lewis' family says the shooting was a result of bullying and he was afraid for his life.

"What he did was wrong, I don't uphold wrongdoing, but he was scared," said Lewis' mother, Yolanda Domino. "He was so scared that he felt like he needed to have something to protect himself, because he said that these boys carried guns and they've been known to shoot people."

"He reports it all the time. Every official knows about the boys bullying him," said his sister, Sabrina Domino.

Domino and her daughters say warren has been under attack by three older students for months and the school was aware. On Tuesday, they say, one of them punched warren so he pulled out the gun. But instead, the 16-year-old student, North Forest ISD spokesperson Sue Davis said.

The student was hit in the leg, but the suspect didn't get far. A teacher nearby leaped into action.

"The alleged shooter was apprehended by a teacher at the school who happened to be a deputy constable who was teaching a government class," Davis said.

Lewis is now being held at the Harris County Jail, while the 16-year-old was transported to the hospital, and is expected to be all right.

Sabrina Domino says she doesn't know where her son got the gun, but she feels awful for the victim.

"Warren wasn't trying to hurt your child," she said.

But she also holds the school partly responsible.

"I have been to school so many times and they say they can't do anything because nothing has happened so now something has happened and my son has gone to jail," Sabrina Domino said.

Officials want to know how the teen got the gun into school, despite metal detectors. Parents and students at the school say they are beyond frustrated by the constant threat of violence.

"I'm tired of it," said freshman Bernadette Garcia. "Why are you going to send someone to school if something happens each and every day?"

The school district is reviewing metal detector policies following the shooting. Officials also say anything other than clear backpacks will now be banned from the high school. As a result, the school district is buying a clear backpack for all 1,285 high school students. They hope to have those purchased by next week.

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

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North Forest ISD to fight state-ordered closure

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The state has ordered North Forest ISD to shut down by next summer. There are still a lot of unknowns at this point, including what will happen to North Forest's 7,500 students and whether the district's schools will be closed and/or sold.

While many in this community aren't necessarily happy with how this situation is playing out, they believe the school district's long track record of problems will be hard to defend.

After years of poor test scores, high dropout rates and financial mismanagement, the Texas Education Agency says North Forest ISD has done an awful job of educating its students and believes it's time to close the district and give the 7,500 kids who go to school there a fresh start.

Parent Vanessa Kegler said, "You got to have teachers who want to teach the children and not just go in there for a paycheck."

Kegler says she moved out of North Forest because the schools were so bad, but she worries that shutting down the entire district will strip the community of its identity.

"They want to close out all the blacks. I feel like this society is not worried about our children anymore," Kegler said.

As details of next year's potential merger with Houston ISD get ironed out, the cry to keep the district intact is growing louder. Houston City Councilman Jarvis Johnson and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee acknowledge the district's troubles, but they believe North Forest is worth saving. Lee has organized an emergency community meeting.

She said, "I just think in spite of the many, many citations year after year that is alleged in the letter that I'm still reviewing, that there may be some questions of district treatment and attitudes that I think are inappropriate in the state of Texas."

North Forest is in the process of appealing the state's decision, but does it have a leg to stand on?

Parent Timandra Gauthier isn't sure how fighting this is going to benefit the kids, who according to the state haven't been getting a quality education for years.

"It's kind of sad in a way, but I mean, whatever helps the kids. If they're not learning in the schools there is no use for them to be there," Gauthier said. "They need to be placed somewhere else where they can learn."

(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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State orders North Forest ISD to close

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A state education commissioner has ordered North Forest ISD to close its doors by next year.

Texas Education Agency Commissioner Robert Scott sent the school district a letter on Friday outlining its intent to close the district July 1, 2012. North Forest ISD can still operate for the upcoming school year, and it is being given the option to appeal the state's decision. The district's acting superintendent, Edna Forte, says North Forest ISD is in the process of filing that appeal now. But as of now, the state is planning to annex the district to Houston ISD, which would then determine whether to keep the campuses open or place current North Forest ISD students at HISD schools already open. The state's decision comes after years of financial and academic issues plaguing the school district. The district will have a substandard financial rating statewide for the fourth straight year, and North Forest High School will be given an academically unacceptable rating for the sixth year. Last year, only 31 percent of ninth graders passed the TAKS test. Of the 8,000 public high schools in Texas, North Forest High School is the worst-performing school. "We think it's time to close North Forest and give somebody else a chance to educate these kids because this district has consistently failed the kids," Texas Education Agency Spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe said. The TEA says the district has dug itself into a deep financial hole it simply can't dig itself back out of. North Forest ISD released a statement late Tuesday afternoon in response to the TEA's decision, which read in part, "We acknowledge the troubled past of the district and many of the challenges we face to get back on solid footing, but we're also encouraged that the innovative academic opportunities and the 2011-2012 financial forecast provide evidence that our strategic plan is taking us in the right direction. "It took years to get to this point and we will not come out of this overnight; but we will come out of this with the North Forest Independent School District intact and able to provide the quality education our students deserve." Houston ISD also issued a statement late Tuesday stating it did not advocate for this proposal, but it is ready to welcome North Forest ISD's students if the state's order becomes reality. "We know it's going to be a challenge. We believe there should be an effective teacher in every classroom and an effective leader in every school. We are realizing the positive results from those beliefs and we are looking forward to sharing our academic achievement with every student, teacher, and community member joining Team HISD," HISD Board President Paula Harris said in the statement."We look forward to working with Commissioner Scott to ensure that HISD receives adequate financial resources to tackle this unique challenge." Since the closure is being forced by the state, the Department of Justice will have to approve its closure. Meanwhile, residents in the area are heartbroken. "For this area to continue to thrive and to make it better, we have to make sure our children are educated and there are jobs for people in the community," resident Jerry Davis said. "I think this is a wakeup call. I think it's time for the community to get more involved than it has been in the past and truly pull behind North Forest because I don't think it's a truly broken situation," former North Forest ISD student Bryan smart said. While some hope the north forest name still has a future, others side with the state and believe a drastic change is the only solution. "I think it was the best thing they could have ever done," parent Anna Brooks said. "I feel like the children have a better chance of getting a better education, through somebody else."

Sheila Jackson Lee wants to keep district open

Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee wants to keep the district open and could ask the federal government to step in.

She released a statement that encourages "parents and community leaders to use all legal action to prevent this school district from being shut down." She calls it "a civil rights issue."

The congresswoman plans to hold an emergency meeting Saturday to discuss the closing.

Past troubles of North Forest ISD In 2009, the state had kicked out all of the school board's elected trustees because of a $12 million budget deficit, academically unacceptable rankings. The Texas Education Agency then took over the entire school district but returned control to a locally elected school board last year. Then in March, North Forest ISD placed its Texas Education Agency-appointed superintendent Dr. Adrain Johnson on administrative leave amid concerns over continued financial issues and the district's graduation rate. A13 Undercover investigation also exposed serious mismanagement in their special education department. The Harris County District Attorney's Office never did anything about it, but hundreds of thousands of dollars meant for special education kids went misused at North Forest until 13 Undercover stopped it. Ruth Watson used to be head of the north forest special education department. In 2008, we exposed hundreds of thousands in state funds wasted on unqualified consultants. As it turned out a lot of folks on the payroll were kin folks or special friends to Watson. She was on the spring school board at the time but was eventually voted out. It's hard to forget Watson. Among her allegations is that 13 Undercover's Wayne Dolcefino sexually harassed her during a spring school board meeting by tickling her hand when he shook it. (Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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