A staff member at Marguerite J. Lundy Elementary School in West El Paso was bitten by a snake earlier Friday, prompting school officials to alert parents and reassure the community that students remained safe and were not near the area when the bite occurred.
Principal Hillery Smith sent a message to the school community confirming the incident, according to KFOX14/CBS4. School officials said they responded immediately and were taking appropriate safety measures to protect students and staff, though the school provided no further details about the staff member's condition or the species of snake involved. Officials reiterated that the well-being of students and staff remains the school's top priority.
A Campus Built on the Desert's Edge
Lundy Elementary sits at 6201 High Ridge Dr., at the western base of the Franklin Mountains, where the suburban campus directly borders natural desert habitat, according to El Paso ISD. The school opened in March 2010 and serves students from Pre-K through fifth grade. That geography helps explain why native wildlife, including snakes, can wander onto school grounds from the surrounding foothills.
Smith is in her second year leading Lundy Elementary and has spent 28 years in El Paso ISD, having helped open the campus as a teacher back in 2009, per the district. She previously worked as a classroom teacher and campus teaching coach before stepping into the principal role.
Rattlesnakes Are the Region's Main Venomous Threat
El Paso County is home to six distinct rattlesnake species — the Western Diamondback, Black-tailed, Rock, Mohave, Prairie, and Massasauga — making pit vipers the primary venomous reptile risk in the area's mountain and desert environments, according to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Western Diamondbacks are considered the most abundant pit vipers in western Texas.
The Lundy incident follows a similar case just six days earlier, when an elementary school principal in Jarrell ISD was hospitalized after being bitten by a small rattlesnake while trying to clear it away from a school door, as reported by KXAN. Jarrell ISD officials noted that snakes periodically seek shelter near outdoor entryways, a pattern that mirrors what happened at Lundy.
A Seasonal Surge in Sightings
El Paso emergency health experts warned in April that rattlesnake and scorpion sightings climb significantly across local neighborhoods and public grounds from late spring into early autumn as rising temperatures push displaced desert wildlife to move, according to KTSM 9 News. Ongoing land development around the desert perimeter has also pushed displaced snakes closer to school grounds, the station reported.
The Texas Poison Center Network recorded a more than 40 percent year-over-year surge in snakebite calls during warm-weather months, and the network advises the public and school groundskeepers to keep their distance and call animal control rather than handle wild reptiles themselves. The network operates a 24-hour emergency hotline at 1-800-222-1222.
What Health Officials Say Bite Victims Should Expect
The Texas Department of State Health Services estimates that about 7,000 venomous snakebites occur annually across the United States, with Texas averaging one to two fatalities per year. Roughly half of pit viper strikes are so-called dry bites that inject no venom, and only about 0.2 percent of venomous bites nationwide prove fatal, the agency says.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Texas Parks & Wildlife advise keeping snakebite victims calm and getting them to emergency care immediately, while warning against outdated first-aid tactics such as tourniquets, incisions, ice, or suction devices, which can worsen tissue damage. CDC occupational safety research also indicates that 10% to 44% of rattlesnake bite victims suffer lasting physical impairment, including reduced mobility or tissue loss in affected limbs, and recommends antivenom therapy whenever envenomation symptoms progress.
The Lundy bite also echoes an April snakebite at a Grapevine field trip, when a fourth-grader at Glenhope Elementary was bitten by a snake during an outdoor excursion, prompting staff to cancel the trip immediately and issue safety guidance to parents, as per Hoodline. It remains unclear what specific wildlife precautions, if any, El Paso ISD will implement along the mountain perimeter at Lundy going forward.
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