Police documents related to the arrest of a security guard charged with threatening Mercedes High School allege the man repeatedly made his own threats and then reported or recorded them.
Edgar Aaron Estrada Jr., who was employed by a third-party security company working for the district, was charged with terroristic threat and false alarm or report on Wednesday.
On May 26, the school received several threats about a school shooting or bomb on campus, documents said. Those threats led to an evacuation of Mercedes High that the school officials unpopularly termed a “drill.”
“The threats were made by someone that had been able to transmit through the school portable radio handsets of school staff and security personnel,” the documents read. “The threats later caused the evacuation or (sic) all students and staff from the building.”
A log indicated there had been six separate transmissions, which Estrada had written down verbatim. The threats appeared to investigators to have been made by someone watching the evacuation unfold outside the high school.
The alleged threats are chilling.
“Look at you guys doing a lockdown in school times going we have armed students in campus good luck lets see how you guys cover this up from the public,” one read. Another reads, “It’s nice to see you guys walking out both sides hope all students can run.”
Estrada was the only individual on that channel, documents said. Other personnel switched to a different channel because of the threats being made over the radio handsets.
“Security officer Estrada was able to document the radio transmissions in great detail as they came but no other faculty member heard them. It was also found that Security Officer Estrada had not notified anyone which included Law Enforcement or any school personnel of the continuing incoming threats that were being made while students and staff where (sic) being evacuated outside the building,” a probable cause affidavit said. Remaining alone on that channel, Estrada “reportedly was able to hear the suspect making additional threats.”
Police had investigated previous threats to the campus on April 6.
That afternoon Estrada had reported finding writing on the wall of a boys restroom with more alarming threats.
“I’m going to kill everyone today,” the writing read. A separate tile was emblazoned with “School shooting at 3PM, I have a gun.”
Police photographed the writing and remained at the location to “show presence” until students left, the documents said.
Investigators compared photos of the handwriting from the threats written on the bathroom wall in April with Estrada’s written log.
The letters, police said, matched up.
Investigators observed “that the capital “G” in the phrase “Gun” and “Guard” in both writing’s (sic) were unique and matched. The number “3” when compared in both writing’s (sic) also matched.”
The “v” and “a” in the word “have” were uniquely interconnected, the documents said, and the “S” and “H” matched up.
“After comparison, the unique formation of the letters which matched in both handwriting’s (sic) show that it was written by the same person,” documents said.
