[Image: Police Handout]
Well, here’s a parenting strategy straight out of a horror script: a Texas mom has been cuffed for allegedly acting as her son’s personal arms dealer while he plotted “mass targeted violence” at his school, according to officials.
I guess nothing says quality family bonding like a tactical vest and a shared delusion.
Prosecutors claim 33-year-old Ashley Pardo wasn’t just aware of her son’s obsession with mass violence, she was in on it. And for what, you ask? A babysitting arrangement. That’s right: she “intentionally and knowingly aided” his plans in exchange for him watching his younger siblings. Who knew terrorism could be a chore trade?
The 13-year-old reportedly pulled a dramatic entrance on Monday, turning up at San Antonio’s Jeremiah Rhodes Middle School “wearing a mask, camouflage jacket and tactical pants but left shortly after,” police said. He was later picked up off-campus.
The mom was nabbed the same day. Not by crack detectives, but thanks to the boy’s grandmother, who had the good sense to phone police and drop the bombshell that Ms Pardo had allegedly bought the gun.
The plot thickens, or explodes. On Saturday, Granny walks into the boy’s bedroom and finds him playing with live ammo and a hammer. Casual. According to a police affidavit, she also discovered a DIY explosive made from a firework, proudly labelled with the name of the Australian terrorist who attacked two mosques in New Zealand in 2019. Yikes.
The grandma told police that Ms Pardo had actually driven the boy to a military surplus store, where he stocked up on the essentials: ammo, a tactical vest, and a helmet. Forget candy stores, this kid was shopping for war.
And just to spice things up, the student allegedly told his grandmother on Monday that he was “going to be famous” before heading to school.
You could say it was a totally normal school day before the kid showed up dressed for Call of Duty, then ghosted before roll call. For a while, no one knew where he was. Court documents say school officials and investigators were left scrambling to locate him.
Eventually, the school informed parents that “the student was detained off-campus and charged with terrorism.” They also said he’d previously been under the microscope for “some posts the student made online.” Because, of course, he had.
Let’s rewind to January: officials found a map the boy had drawn of the school, labelled “suicide route.” The student apparently confessed to having a “fascination with past mass shooters, including their manifestos.” Casual lunchtime convo stuff.
In April, he was suspended for using a school computer to research—you guessed it—mass shootings. After a stint at an alternative school, he made his glorious return to Rhodes Middle on May 8. That didn’t go well either.
As for the mom, officials say she knew all of this and shrugged. “The Defendant expressed to the school her support of (her son’s) violent expressions and drawings and does not feel concerned for his behaviour,” reads the court document. That’s one way to raise a kid.
Pardo is now facing one count of aiding in the commission of terrorism. She posted a $75,000 bail and waltzed out of custody on Tuesday. She’s due back in court on July 17, assuming she doesn’t trade testimony for a couple of free babysitting shifts.
This isn’t a one-off. US authorities are increasingly throwing the book at parents whose kids go rogue. Last year, a Michigan couple was convicted of manslaughter after buying their son a gun while his mental health nosedived. In Georgia, a dad is facing murder, manslaughter, and child cruelty charges after his 14-year-old carried out a school shooting.
Moral of the story? If your kid starts mapping out “suicide routes,” don’t buy him a helmet – maybe try a therapist.
[Source: BBC]
