OAN Staff Abril Elfi
11:24 AM – Thursday, May 15, 2025
A 33-year-old Texas mother has been charged after being accused by authorities of purchasing ammunition and tactical gear for her son’s planned “mass targeted violence” at his middle school.
Her son’s age and name have not been disclosed by authorities — though middle school age typically ranges from 11 to 14 years old.
According to an affidavit obtained by ABC News, Ashley Pardo, 33, was charged with “aiding in the commission of terrorism” after purportedly providing ammunition and tactical gear to her son, who is also accused of planning some kind of “mass targeted violence” at Rhodes Middle School in San Antonio, Texas.
Pardo was initially contacted in January about “[her son’s] drawings of the local school [he] currently attended,” according to the affidavit. It noted that the drawings featured a map of the school labeled “suicide route,” and the school’s name scribbled next to another drawing of a gun.
Pardo and her son, who was not named in the affidavit, were contacted by officials at the time since he expressed a “fascination with past mass shooters,” according to the affidavit.
The child was reportedly discovered in April researching the 2019 Christchurch shooting in New Zealand, which killed 51 people, while he was using a school-issued computer — the affidavit continued.
“He was subsequently suspended, and later in the day, attempted suicide, with a straight razor causing significant injuries and requiring over 100 stitches,” the affidavit noted.
Officials then explained that the boy began attending an “alternative school” until May 7th.
Some time after, his grandmother, with whom he had been staying with “on various occasions,” contacted police on Monday after she found her grandson “hitting a live bullet with a hammer,” authorities continued.
After being questioned by her, the young boy told his grandmother that he received the bullet from Pardo, his mother, and that she had “guns and ammunition at her house.”
According to the affidavit, the grandmother then informed officials that Pardo had taken the child to a local surplus store to purchase magazines, a tactical black vest “capable of concealing ballistic plates,” a tactical black helmet, and other military clothes.
Officials noted that the child had informed his grandmother on Monday that he was “going to be famous” soon — before Pardo picked him up and drove him to school. According to the complaint, the grandmother also later searched the boy’s bedroom and discovered “more magazines containing live rifle and pistol ammo.”
Officials say that Pardo had been aware of the threats and even expressed her support of his “violent expressions and [art] drawings” — expressing that she did not feel concerned whatsoever about his behavior.
Pardo had also purchased the gear and ammunition for her son in exchange for all the times that he would agree to “babysit his younger siblings.”
On Monday, the child’s school told Texas officials that he had arrived wearing a camouflage jacket, a mask, and tactical pants — leaving the classroom soon after he arrived.
In a letter sent to parents later that day, Rhodes Middle School Principal Felismina Martinez announced that Pardo’s disturbed son had been “detained off-campus and is [now] being charged with terrorism.”
“Please know we take all potential threats seriously and act immediately to protect everyone in our care,” Martinez stated in the letter. “We will always remain vigilant to ensure our learning and working environment is safe and secure.”
According to court records, Pardo was eventually released on a $75,000 bond on Tuesday and she will return to court for a pre-indictment hearing on July 17th.
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