Mom supported son's plan for school shooting and bought him ammo, Texas cops say

Mitchell Willetts, The Charlotte Observer on May 14, 2025

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A mother is accused of supporting her son’s plot to carry out a mass shooting at a middle school and buying him ammo and gear to do so, Texas officials say.

Ashley Rosalinda Pardo, 33, was arrested Monday, May 12, on a charge of aiding in commission of terrorism, Bexar County court records show.

Pardo’s son was detained the same day on a terrorism charge after he briefly showed up to a middle school “wearing a mask, camouflage jacket and tactical pants,” KSAT reported.

He had been planning an attack on Jeremiah Rhodes Middle School, on San Antonio’s west side, since at least January, KSAT reported. That was when the school and authorities discovered a series of troubling drawings featuring the school, in addition to a campus map, a section of which he’d labeled “suicide route,” according to officials.

The boy was suspended in April after officials said he was researching two deadly mosque attacks in New Zealand while on his school-issued computer, KSAT reported.

He was then sent to an alternative school, WOAI reported.

He attended alternative school until May 7, and then was allowed to return to campus — which had implemented new security measures in preparation, WOAI reported.

On May 11, the boy’s grandmother saw him hitting a bullet with a hammer, asked him where he got it, and he explained that his mother had purchased him ammunition, handgun and rifle magazines, as well as tactical gear and clothing “in exchange for babysitting his younger siblings,” the outlet reported.

In the boy’s room, officials say a homemade explosive was also found, cobbled together with duct tape and a firework, KHOU reported. A relative contacted authorities.

Investigators say Pardo was well-aware of her son’s “violent expressions and drawings,” and had been warned in the past by police, Child Protective Services, and the school district, according to the station. Not only was Pardo not troubled by his behavior, she “expressed to the school her support” of it, officials say.

Pardo’s bond was set at $75,000, but she made bail on May 13 and is out of jail, records show.

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