A Connally High School student is in the hot seat after authorities said he opened fire and then drove over another individual in the school's parking lot. The chaos unfolded just before the lunch hour on Monday, resulting in the arrest of Vince Nguyen, age 17, the accused assailant and student at the Pflugerville ISD school.
Police scrambled to the scene after reports emerged that someone might have been shot and possibly hit by a car. Although the victim wasn't found at the location, officers managed to connect with him through a call as the victim was already making his way to the hospital. According to an affidavit obtained by KVUE, the wounded said that Nguyen lured him over to his vehicle, displayed a firearm, and threatened, "You're done for." In a struggle to defend himself, the victim claimed to try and disarm Nguyen, who then seemingly put the pedal to the metal, knocking down and running over the victim in the process.
Marlon Rivas, an uncle of a Connally student, lamented to KVUE, "It's a little bit sad for me because this used to be a real good school. But not anymore." Schools are imagined to be safe spaces, where violence is the exception, not the expectation. "It's is kind of scary to think that that happened during school hours," Mendy Barnett said.
Flock cameras helped to swiftly identify Nguyen’s vehicle as it departed Connally at the time of the violent episode. He was subsequently arrested at his residence. Nguyen's now facing serious charges including a felony count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He's additionally accused of possession of a stolen firearm after Pflugerville ISD police confirmed the weapon was reported stolen, as reported by CBS Austin.
Parents received communication from the school that evening, assuring them that the incident was "isolated," and posed no threat to other students or staff. "I felt like they did a good job at least informing us," Barnett told KVUE. The district also made it clear that disciplinary actions would be taken against any students found to be carrying weapons on campus grounds. As of now, the condition of the victim, who suffered a gunshot wound and several abrasions, remains unreported.
