HOUSTON—The family of the North Forest High senior who admitted to shooting a ninth-grader during a fight with another student says they were the target of a drive-by shooting Wednesday night.
Warren Lewis, 18, made a court appearance Thursday morning and the judge refused to lower his $30,000 bond.
Lewis’ sister, Shelena Domino, said the family was sitting inside their home when someone fired several shots in the direction of the house.
Domino says after the shooting her neighbor came beating on their door.
“She said when she walked out all she heard was, ‘clink, clink, clink.’ Her feet hitting (the bullet casings), that’s how many there was. And we heard it and it sounded like it was a bunch of them, it sounded like they were right here,” said Domino.
The family’s attorney, Tamika Solomon, said it was not just a mere issue of bullying or students seeking retaliation on school campus.
“These are real threats to his life, to his family’s life,” Solomon said. “So the reality is, Warren Lewis may be safer in police custody in jail in Harris County.”
Lewis told the judge in an earlier court appearance that he carried the gun in his backpack because he was the victim of bullying. He’s charged with assault with a deadly weapon and was expected Thursday to be charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon on school property.
According to the probable cause document read in court, Lewis was sitting in a second-floor classroom on Tuesday when another student confronted him. Lewis and that student then walked into a hallway and began to fight. The fight ended with Lewis covering his face. Lewis then grabbed a gun and fired five shots.
A 16-year-old freshman, who was not the target, was hit in the leg. The victim was taken to the hospital in stable condition.
Classmates and parents on Wednesday expressed concern about bullying at the high school and the way the matter has been handled by administrators.
“They keep on saying that they are going to do better for the school and they haven’t,” said Khadijah Evans, a North Forest High School student.
“They don’t do nothing about (bullying) at all,” said Shamira James, another student. “So, (Lewis) had no other protection. So, he had to bring a gun to school to protect himself. If not, people just are going to keep on bullying him every day and all that stuff like that.”
“(Lewis) needs to be held accountable for his actions and that part, but I can definitely understand his fear of being bullied,” said Angela Frazier, a parent. “I just cannot condone or accept that he felt strongly enough to bring a firearm to school.”
North Forest ISD on Wednesday released a statement saying they were never told of any bullying.
“Regarding the claims by Mr. Lewis’s mother that bullying of her son was reported to the North Forest School District, we can find no complaints filed either at the high school or the district police office about bullying of Mr. Lewis,” said Sue Davis, NFISD spokesperson.
