Jonathan Aguilar was walking down a hallway at Elgin High School on October 30 when a fight broke out nearby — and what he says he saw next has his mother demanding answers from the district. “It's a big ole knife, and I remembered I seen him stab him,” Aguilar said, describing the moment he watched one student stab another.
Aguilar's account, first reported by FOX 7 Austin, lines up with chaotic video footage reviewed from the scene, which captured students shouting “He's got a knife! He's got a knife!” as the altercation unfolded. Elgin ISD confirmed that one student was injured and evaluated by emergency medical services, while another student was taken into police custody, though the district did not explain how the student was hurt, according to KXAN.
The district said Elgin High School was placed on a temporary hold while police investigated, and that there was no immediate threat to the campus during that time. Students remained in classrooms, hallways were kept clear, and instruction continued throughout the hold, the district said in an email cited by the station's report. The Elgin Police Department later issued an all-clear after completing its investigation, and students returned to their regular schedules, per the same account.
Conflicting Accounts of the Lockdown and Who Was Involved
Not every outlet described the campus response the same way. KXAN reported the school was placed on “hold,” while the Elgin Courier described the response as a lockdown, reporting that it began at 9:04 a.m. and was lifted at 10:34 a.m., according to the Elgin Courier. The Courier also reported that the incident involved an altercation between three pupils, a detail that differs from the two-student framing described elsewhere.
CBS Austin reported that Elgin police responded to the school between 9 and 10 a.m. on October 30, and that a juvenile suspect was taken into custody while a juvenile was treated for injuries described as not life-threatening, according to CBS Austin. That outlet reported that officials had not shared the extent of the injured student's injuries or whether the student in custody would face charges.
A Parent Questions Security Measures and Transparency
Angie Fuentes, an Elgin ISD parent whose family relocated to Elgin in 2021, is Aguilar's mother. She has questioned the district's campus security and said she is considering withdrawing her children from the district. Fuentes specifically asked why the school does not have metal detectors, according to Fox 7 Austin's report.
Aguilar told the station that while Elgin High School enforces student ID badges and mandates clear or mesh backpacks, the campus lacks walk-through metal detectors or weapons scanners at entrances. Fuentes said she is concerned about what she described as silencing of children and parents, along with a lack of transparency and leadership in the district, the station reported.
Earlier Push for Metal Detectors at the Same Campus
The security debate is not new at Elgin High School. In separate coverage of earlier safety concerns, Elgin ISD had approved metal detectors for the campus, with the equipment to be purchased from the district's safety and security budget, according to KVUE. That earlier reporting also noted that police had no immediate evidence a weapon was used in a separate fight at the school, though the matter remained under investigation at the time. KVUE reported that an additional community forum on safety concerns had been scheduled for May 10 at 6 p.m. at Elgin High School.
Elgin ISD has said that student safety and security are its top priority, per the district email cited in Fox 7 Austin's report. Fox 7 Austin requested comment from Elgin ISD about the stabbing, its security protocols, and parent concerns on Friday afternoon, but the district had not responded by Saturday evening.
