FBI investigating suspicious packages at Crockett and Bush elementary schools

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Envelopes with a mysterious white powder inside were sent to two local elementary schools yesterday. The FBI is now looking for a possible connection between the two incidents.

Field tests on the substance came back negative for any hazardous substance, but the FBI will do some additional testing.

Emergency crews and the FBI were called out to Crockett Elementary School in the First Ward yesterday morning, and then to Bush Elementary School in far west Houston in the afternoon. In both cases, an envelope with a suspicious substance inside was sent to the school.

At Crockett, a administrative assistant opened an envelope in an office area of the school and saw a powder-like substance inside. As a precaution, the office area was isolated and the air conditioning turned off. Students were kept in their classes during the investigation, but were not evacuated.

The scene was cleared about an hour later and there was said to be no danger to students.

Then yesterday afternoon, a suspicious substance was found in an envelope at Bush Elementary School in west Houston at around 1pm. HISD police and HFD are investigating.

According to the FBI, they will perform further tests to determine if it's the same substance that was found in other envelopes around Texas this week.

Students took letters home to their parents yesterday informing them that a white powder was sent in envelopes to their schools.

HISD sent out an email alert to its principals yesterday afternoon.

"Fortunately, the principal here at Bush read that email and as she was checking her mail, came across a letter that seemed to meet the description of what the others had looked like, so she immediately put it down; she did not open it. She cut off the air conditioning in the school, according to procedure," said HISD Spokesperson Jason Spencer.

School at Bush Elementary let out at the regular time Wednesday, although parents arrived to find a HazMat truck parked in front.

There were no injuries, but obviously a lot of parents were concerned.

This is the third such incident in the last year and a half. Last May, a white substance was found in a letter at John Paul II Catholic School in west Houston, but it turned out to be harmless silicone. In October 2010, more than a dozen HISD campuses found envelopes with a white powder inside.

Other Texas schools affected today, yesterday

Seven schools and a church in the Dallas area received white powder filled envelopes yesterday and today. This morning, the administrator of a Dallas preschool opened a powder-filled letter. The administrator put the letter in a plastic bag and called 911.

The administrator was taken to the hospital for observation. Ten staff members and a class full of children ages three to five years old were evacuated from the school as a precaution.

"They weren't exposed to anything, but it's only because we don't have another classroom to put them in here at this facility; we have to go ahead and send them home today," said Gayle Nave, Executive Director of Mi Escuelita Preschool.

On Tuesday, five schools and a church in five different Dallas area cities received threatening letters with what turned out to be non life-threatening powder. It's not known if the North Texas and Houston cases are related.

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

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Young girl struck by car near elementary school

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A young girl is in the hospital after she was struck by a car early this morning.

The accident happened at about 7:30am on Concourse at Lawndale in southwest Houston. Harmony Elementary is not far from the scene, but it's not yet known if the victim was a student there.

The girl, believed to be about six to eight years old, was struck by a vehicle. A witness performed CPR at the scene. The girl was taken by ambulance to Texas Children's Hospital. Her condition is not known.

There's no word if the driver stayed at the scene, or if there will be any charges.

ABC13 Reporter Pooja Lodhia will have the latest on this developing story on ABC13 Eyewitness News at 11am.

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

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Student on bike hit by car near elementary school

An elementary school student riding a bike was injured when she was hit by a car before school on Wednesday morning

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- An elementary school student riding a bike was injured when she was hit by a car before school on Wednesday morning.

Klein ISD says at around 8am a female second grader from Roth Elementary School was riding her bike at Castlemont and Lost Lake near the school when she was struck by a car. The school principal and the nurse went to the location to aid the student.

The student suffered minor injuries was transported to St. Luke's Hospital in The Woodlands.

Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office is conducting an investigation to determine if the driver will face charges.

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

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Arsonists sought in Pasadena elementary school fire

Pasadena authorities are trying to identify these two suspects in connection with two arson fires at an elementary school

  PASADENA, TX (KTRK) -- Investigators are looking for the culprits who intentionally set two fires at a Pasadena-area elementary school.

Around 3:35am Sunday, Pasadena firefighters responded to a Dumpster fire at an elementary school in the 2700 block of Lafferty Road, according to Crime Stoppers. When they extinguished that blazed, they received word for a second fire near the portable buildings in the back of the school. Firefighters contained that fire before it could reach the buildings.

An investigation later determined that both fires were intentionall set. Surveillance footage captured two males at the scene, but authorities need help identifying them.

Anyone with information about the suspects is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477.

(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Girl, 5, locked out of elementary school

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A five-year-old girl was safe at home Monday afternoon after she says she was locked out of school early in the morning. The girl made her way home, much to the surprise of her mom who called the principal of Scott Elementary demanding answers.

It's a scary situation for any parent. The five-year-old is new to the school and according to the principal she was dropped off early before classes started. As a result, the school's safety plan is now under the microscope.

Veronica Hogarth thought Scott Elementary School was a safe place, until Monday morning.

She said, "I heard somebody banging on the door and crying for help."

To Hogarth's surprise, it was her five-year-old daughter Heavenly. The kindergartner walked home seven blocks after she got locked out of the school.

Hogarth explained, "My daughter asked her to go to the restroom. She said sorry they are all locked; you'll have to hold it. My daughter took it upon herself to go to the restroom. She went out the wrong door, so the doors are not being watched."

To make matters worse, a stranger accompanied the kindergartener home. The woman ran off after the little girl recognized her house.

A neighbor is the only one who saw this woman and right now Heavenly Hogarth isn't saying much about her, so her mother's not sure what her intentions were. But she thinks it's odd the woman didn't even come to the front door.

"She just let her walk, what if this wasn't her house? If you as a parent, and you just take off? Maybe her intentions were bad," Hogarth wondered.

Hogarth called police and the school and says she got angry when school staff members told her they were unaware that her daughter was gone. She walked her daughter back to school and had a long talk with the principal who promised her things would be different.

"They are going to have bathrooms open at that time," Hogarth said. "They are going to have a person standing at the exit doors."

HISD issued the following statement to Eyewitness News:
"HISD officials are reviewing an incident this morning at Dogan/Scott Elementary School in which a kindergarten student left campus unsupervised. According to the principal, the child's older sister dropped her off between 7:10am and 7:15am. This is 15-20 minutes before the school opens at 7:30am, and 45-50 minutes before instructional day at Dogan/Scott begins at 8am. The child, who is new to the school, wandered off campus and returned to her home. School officials are reviewing their early-morning procedures, and the child's mother has been made aware that students are not to be dropped off before 7:30am." (Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Woman charged in Ross Elementary School shooting

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- There are new developments in the case of a boy who took a gun to Ross Elementary School last month and the weapon went off.

A student admitted taking the gun the school where it went off and grazed that boy and two other students. Police charged Wrolandrea Hensley with making a firearm accessible to a child. The boy and his mother stayed at Hensley's home, where police believe the boy found the gun. (Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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HISD students react to elementary campus closures

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- As Houston ISD prepares to close down four under-attended elementary schools, parents and students are trying to come to terms with the decision.

As we showed you late last night, trustees voted to close Grimes, Rhoads, McDade and Stevenson elementary schools. Students will be allowed to attend any other campus they choose. On Friday afternoon at Stevenson, we found that many parents picking up their children also attended the school when they were kids. And the young students have various concerns about the closure. "I'm gonna miss my friends and I'm scared I won't get to see them again," one student said. "I'm going to be scared because this is the only school I go to," another said. "I don't want this school to shut down, it's like my learning home," a third said. "I was hoping to graduate from all the way to middle school; it's all up in smokes," a fourth student said. The district is still deciding what to do with the campuses once they're closed. Meanwhile, students currently zoned to McDade would be redistributed among Paige, Cook and Kashmere Gardens elementary schools. Rhoads Elementary and Grimes Elementary students would attend the Woodson pre-kindergarten through 8th grade school. Stevenson Elementary would be redistributed to Memorial and Love elementary schools. (Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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HISD votes to close four elementary schools

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Houston ISD has decided to close four small elementary schools it has determined to be economically unviable.

The HISD board spent late Thursday evening determining the fate of Grimes, Rhoads, McDade and Stevenson elementary schools. A number of parents and students attended the meeting, hoping their last-minute plea to save their schools would change trustees' mind. It didn't. "Rather than reach for the low-hanging fruit, run into school closure and consolidation, I'd like for them to look substantive cuts, look at some of their administrative costs, look at this building. The cost of this building is phenomenal," parent E. Byron Marbley said. "There are other ways to reach their budgetary goals without closing neighborhood schools." With the closures, the school district will save nearly $1.7 million and shorten the $160 million budgetary gap it's expecting from the state. "It's very inefficient. If you look at the numbers, you realize they have to spend a lot of money just to keep the building open," said Anne Eagleton, who supports the district's decision. "That's not money spend on children's education. That's hiring a custodial crew, that's having the electricity on, cooling, heating. I'd rather the money spent in the classroom on our children." HISD had been weighing options for months now and finally decided it is unable to offer the schools, which host fewer than 400 students each, the same level of programs at larger schools and that keeping them open. "Really these are no longer educationally viable schools," HISD's Jason Spencer said. "We really feel like these students are gonna be better served in schools that are a little bit bigger." The students who attend the small schools closing will now be sent to one of the following other schools: Students currently zoned to McDade would be redistributed among Paige, Cook and Kashmere Gardens elementary schools. Rhoads Elementary and Grimes Elementary students would attend the Woodson pre-kindergarten through 8th grade school. Stevenson Elementary would be redistributed to Memorial and Love elementary schools. Still, a lot of parents maintain all this talk of money is putting at risk the safety and education of their children. "I'm very concerned," parent Logan Poole said. We found a video posted on YouTube of what parents say is a fight at Woodson Middle School, a campus now pre-K through eighth grade. The video was produced by a grassroots group called "Save Our Schools" and civic leader Travis McGee. His point is they don't want the Grimes students exposed to what's seen on the video. "Elementary kids should not be in the same building with middle school kids," McGee said. Poole says she doesn't want her children being moved from grimes to Woodson. Even though it's still a short walk from home, she says its more dangerous and with more traffic, she says, more crime. "It's a lot of crazy things that go on around in this area," Poole said. HISD says any student affected by a closure can choose to attend any other HISD school if they don't want to go to the school where they would then be zoned. But there has to be room at the school they want to attend. The next big question that now remains is the future of the teachers at the four elementary schools. The staff is suggesting they'll be able to save most of the jobs, but it remains to be seen. (Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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