SAN ANTONIO – The school day may have ended at Glenoaks Elementary School, but parents won’t soon forget the way Thursday began.
Many of them arrived Thursday morning to the surprising sight of officers with the San Antonio Police Department and Northside Independent School District (NISD) police, fire trucks and an ambulance all surrounding the building.
SAPD confirmed that the campus, located on Newcome Drive and not far from Wurzbach and Babcock roads, was the site of an apparent suicide.
According to an SAPD sergeant on scene, officers searching for an 18-year-old man who lived in the area discovered his body near a portable classroom building on campus.
The sergeant also said they found a gun nearby.
Police said the man’s family had made a call for a welfare check around 6 a.m. after they noticed he had left home and a gun was missing.
About an hour later, officers located his body at the school, just as students and parents had begun to arrive.
One parent, who wanted to remain anonymous, told KSAT 12 News she had just dropped off her child when she heard about the commotion from a friend.
“I called the school. There was no answer,” the parent said. “So, I drove up here and it was surrounded by police cars.”
The mother said she panicked and “was in tears” as she waited to learn whether her 9-year-old daughter was safe.
Barry Perez, NISD’s assistant superintendent for communications and marketing, sent a statement to KSAT 12 News, saying that parents were notified of the situation through an email from the school’s principal.
Perez said the campus was placed in a brief lockdown, then went into secure status. He said secure status means that all outside activities are brought indoors.
In a statement, Perez also said the incident was unrelated to the school.
This is the second time in recent months that a local school has been the site of an apparent suicide.
Police found the body of a 66-year-old man on the campus of Thomas Jefferson High School on March 28.
The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that the man also died after shooting himself.
Back at the scene of Thursday’s death, some parents wondered whether their children could have been in more danger than they were told.
“Think about what happened in Uvalde,” said Douglas Jarquin, referring to the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary that left 21 people dead.
Because of that history, Jarquin said the idea of an 18-year-old on campus with a gun makes him shudder.
Jarquin and other parents showed up at the school hoping to take their children out of class early.
However, due to the investigation, parents said the school did not release them.
“I just want to get my kids to safety,” Jarquin said, frustrated. “I want to take my kids to safety and take them home.”
The mother who hid her identity said she’s worried about her daughter and other children for a different reason.
She wonders just how much of this incident might stay with them.
“I’m terrified for the children who may have probably seen it,” she said. “I know my daughter’s classroom is near the portable (classrooms).”
The woman said she plans to have a tough talk with her child about what happened, but only after she showers her with love.
“I’m just going to hug her, hold her,” she said. “Probably going to end up crying.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health or thoughts of suicide, call 988 or text TALK to 741-741.
You can also reach out to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) or the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) at 210-223-7233 (SAFE) or 800-316-9241. You can also text NAMI to 741-741.
More coverage of this story on KSAT: