HUNTSVILLE, Texas – A Huntsville ISD mother says her 9-year-old son’s life has been turned upside down after a fight at school left him hospitalized with severe head injuries.
The incident happened on Friday, around 1:30 p.m., inside the gymnasium at Samuel Walker Houston Elementary School.
According to a letter sent home to parents, the campus went into “temporary hold” status while an ambulance was called to handle the situation.
“I can’t even think straight,” Jenna Heniser said.
Jenna Heniser says her son, Kason, is now traumatized and doesn’t want to go back to school. She told KPRC 2’s Re’Chelle Turner that a district representative called her Monday afternoon and explained that Kason and another student had been arguing for several minutes before Kason was slammed to the ground.
“I’m still mind-boggled that it even happened. I can’t even think straight, honestly,” Heniser said.
In a letter sent to parents, the district said Kason and another student were “roughhousing” over a basketball when Kason was thrown to the floor, where he was injured.
The district added that by 1:50 p.m., Kason, a fourth grader, had been transported to the hospital for evaluation and treatment, and the brief hold the campus had was lifted.
“His initial CT showed he had severe swelling on his brain,” Heniser explained. “He was sedated, so they had to lift his sedation to see if he would respond to verbal commands, which thank God he did.”
Heniser shared photos of her son on a ventilator from his hospital room.
“Him and another kid that this other kid that was involved what they were arguing over a basketball because the kid wasn’t playing with it and other kids wanted to play with it so they were trying to get the basketball to play with it and the kid, they just kept going back and forth and the kid was kicking at him, hitting and this and that and try to sling him a couple times and I guess he finally got him and I don’t know if he actually slammed him or slung him to the ground,” she said.
Heniser says she is demanding answers from Huntsville ISD and confirmed she plans to take legal action.
She wants to know why it took so long for someone to step in and is also asking to see the video of what happened inside the gym.
“When we send our kids to school, I mean, we expect them to be safe, to be protected,” Heniser said. “I mean, I understand kids will be kids, but there are adults in that situation that are there just supposed to be to protect them.”
Heniser says she has already filed a report with Child Protective Services.
KPRC s 2’s Re’Chelle Turner spoke briefly with Kason from his hospital bed. He said he’s feeling better but is afraid to return to school.
Doctors ran an MRI on his leg and spine on Monday afternoon. His mother says he can walk, but he still feels dizzy.
Heniser confirmed Kason was released from the hospital on Tuesday morning.
KPRC 2 has reached out to Huntsville ISD several times by email, and a spokesperson shared the following statement Tuesday morning:
“The school district is in the process of working on a detailed statement revealing all that we can legally reveal. I defer any comments regarding the incident to that upcoming statement. School safety is a high priority for HISD and the Board of Trustees, which will always be the case.”
On Wednesday, the district sent the updated statement below: