MESQUITE, Texas — A 19-year-old man was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a student at Horn High School Tuesday afternoon, police said.
According to the Mesquite Police Department, staff at the high school and police were notified of an aggravated sexual assault that took place at about 2:30 p.m. on campus.
Mesquite PD said the investigation revealed that 19-year-old Synniaz Elijah, who is not a student, gained unauthorized access into the school after being let in by a student, bypassing standard procedures for entry.
According to police, once inside, Elijah located the victim, with whom he had a previous dating relationship.
Mesquite PD said Elijah assaulted her and used a weapon to force her into a bathroom where he sexually assaulted her.
Following the assault, a teacher saw Elijah and attempted to identify him, but he ran away.
According to Mesquite PD, at about 9:45 p.m. Tuesday, police executed a search warrant at Elijah's home where he was found and taken into custody.
Police said he has been charged with aggravated sexual assault.
Mesquite ISD provided the following statement on the incident:
At approximately 2:30 PM on Tuesday, Nov. 12, a 19-year-old individual who is not a student at Horn High School gained unauthorized access to the building. A student who was known to this individual opened a locked exterior door, allowing him to enter the school. Once inside, the individual located another student with whom he was acquainted and assaulted them. We cannot share any additional details to protect the student’s privacy and ensure the integrity of the criminal investigation.
Within minutes, an observant teacher noticed this unauthorized individual in the hallway and quickly attempted to identify him as a student. At that point, the individual ran from the teacher and exited the building. The teacher promptly reported the incident to our School Resource Officer (SRO), who immediately responded. The Mesquite Police Department was able to identify the individual and he was arrested on multiple charges late Tuesday night.
Exterior doors are locked for a reason. There are only two authorized entrances for visitors to enter Horn High School. Any student who opens a door to an unauthorized person will face serious disciplinary action, as this compromises the security of our campus.
We are very grateful for the alert teacher who quickly recognized a potential security issue, our campus SROs, and the Mesquite Police Department for their immediate response. We are asking families to take this opportunity to talk to your children about the importance of immediately reporting any safety concerns to a teacher, administrator, SRO, or through our P3 Campus anonymous online reporting tool. If you see something, say something.
We want our Horn families to know that we share their concern that this individual was able to gain entry to the campus. MISD is committed to exceeding state safety and security standards, and we rely on the cooperation and commitment of our students to keep our campus secure.