San Antonio 13-year-old accused of planning attack on middle school must remain in custody, judge rules

A San Antonio teen arrested on allegations he planned to carry out a mass-casualty attack on the Jeremiah Rhodes Middle School campus must remain behind bars, a Bexar County Judge ruled Thursday, according to KSAT.

While in custody, the 13-year-old boy also will continue to receive mental health treatment, the TV station reports, citing the judge’s ruling. The youth’s next detention hearing is set for Aug. 21, and his next court date will follow seven days later, court records indicate.

Authorities arrested the teen in May after his grandmother, with whom the boy sometimes stayed, called police and told them she’d found a loaded rifle and pistol magazines in her home, according to an earlier report by the Express-News. The grandmother also found an improvised explosive device, the daily reported, citing an arrest affidavit.

While the youth was originally taken into custody on a terrorism charge, the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office has only formally charged him with possession of a prohibited weapon, KSAT reports.

The boy’s mother, 33-year-old Ashley Pardo, was later arrested on accusations that she helped her son amass the gear he needed to carry out the school attack, including ammunition, magazines and tactical gear, according to an arrest affidavit cited by multiple media sources. She faces charges of aiding in commission of terrorism, according to news reports.

Pardo was arrested again last week on a charge of abandoning or endangering a child with criminal negligence, KSAT reports, citing a police warrant. That charge stems from an allegation that she pointed a gun at an infant in 2023.

Police also arrested the teen’s father, Mario Porras, in May on charges of endangering a child with criminal negligence, according to the TV station. An arrest affidavit accuses Porras of pointing a pistol at his son, physically roughing up the boy and placed pistol on a table near him several times, the report states.

Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.

Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed

Related Stories

San Antonio minor accused of school-shooting plot could be let go if prosecutors fail to charge him soon

The state has until June 26 to submit all evidence against the youth and formally bring charges.

San Antonio mom accused of helping son planning mass shooting seeking job

A defense attorney representing Ashley Pardo, 33, said her water has been cut off and she’s at risk of losing her electricity.

San Antonio mother accused of aiding son’s school shooting plans under full-time house arrest as part of bond

Pardo is also prohibited from contacting her son, who remains in custody at the Bexar County Juvenile Detention Facility on a terrorism charge.

This article appears in Aug 7-20, 2025.