Texas mother accused of terrorism over claims she bought ammo, gear for son planning mass violence

HOUSTON AP A Texas mother has been charged with a terrorism-related crime after being accused of buying her -year-old son ammunition and tactical gear as he allegedly planned mass violence at his middle school administration explained Thursday The boy who was also charged with terrorism had shown up to the school this week wearing a mask and tactical gear but left shortly after according to San Antonio police He was later detained off campus In new years parents of children who committed school shootings around the U S have been taken to court though in this occurrence no attack happened The gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety disclosed it had not unveiled a similar circumstance in which a parent was charged when violence did not occur Officials in San Antonio revealed the boy s mother had previously been contacted by police her son s school and Child Protective Services with concerns about her son She appeared to be dismissive and unconcerned with her son s behavior San Antonio police Chief William P McManus commented at a news conference Her behavior is not only dangerous it s abhorrent especially as a parent The mother has been charged with aiding in the commission of terrorism She is free on a bond The Associated Press does not normally identify juveniles in criminal cases and is not naming the mother to avoid identifying the -year-old boy who is being held in juvenile detention Joseph Appelt the mother s attorney stated he was unable to comment as he had just been appointed to the incident Thursday and was still learning about it Michael Wynne a Houston-based criminal defense attorney not connected to the affair reported he believes laws and prosecutions of parents over claims they played selected sort of role in a school shooting or plans for one are headed in this direction because of the tragic consequences that can ensue if a parent continues to neglect their responsibilities What we ve had in place so far clearly has not worked Wynne commented We have to do something else because the consequences are so tragic and so dire Around October Child Protective Services published its concerns about the boy s family to police In January he was uncovered in his school drawing violent pictures and in April he was suspended after researching mass shootings on a school computer McManus announced He was allowed to return to campus earlier this month On Sunday a family member saw the boy with a bullet McManus commented He claimed his mother bought him the bullet and tactical gear McManus mentioned The next day the family member discovered loaded magazines and an improvised explosive device and at once contacted police Police say the mother provided her son with gun magazines and ammunition for them McManus explained specific very disturbing things were ascertained inside the mother s home including Nazi swastikas and things like that The mother was charged under a law passed by the Texas Legislature in that detailed a specific criminal charge of terrorism and a state registry for anyone convicted of a crime conducted for the purpose of terrorizing the population Republican state Sen Phil King who authored the bill had explained it was aimed at helping law enforcement identify persons when analyzing threats Nick Suplina senior vice president of law and strategy at Everytown for Gun Safety declared parents and gun owners have the responsibility to prevent kids from accessing deadly weapons without supervision Parental culpability cases are not one-size-fits-all but this one stands out for such utter disregard for warning signs that it begs for criminal charges to be brought even if thankfully a major tragedy was avoided here he reported in a report In Michigan last year Jennifer and James Crumbley were the first U S parents held criminally responsible for a mass school shooting committed by a child They are serving -year prison terms for involuntary manslaughter