Authorities in Mesquite have shared unsettling new information regarding a sexual assault that took place on the Horn High School grounds, involving an individual who is not enrolled in the school.
A recent arrest warrant affidavit reveals that the victim’s mother alerted authorities before the incident, stating that the suspect had been harassing her daughter and had threatened to appear at her school.
The mother of the victim personally visited the school to inform the police officers on-site.
Later, authorities reported that 19-year-old Synnaiz Elijah followed through on his threat.
On Tuesday afternoon, he managed to get past security at Horn High School by persuading another student to open a locked exterior door for him.
Elijah, clad in black and wearing a hoodie, encountered his ex-girlfriend in the hallway. The document states that he struck her in the face, brandished a kitchen knife, and made threats to stab her.
A report indicates that the teenager, feeling threatened, entered a bathroom stall with Elijah, who is accused of choking and sexually assaulting her. He destroyed her school Chromebook before running away.
“After the incident, it’s our understanding that the victim went to the front office and notified staff of what had occurred,” said Mesquite Police Lt. Michael Kelly.
A teacher spotted Elijah in the hallway after the incident and went up to him. Authorities reported that this was the moment he fled the campus.
Image: Synnaiz Elijah
A man was taken into custody on Tuesday evening at his residence in Seagoville and is currently facing charges of aggravated assault against a child.
The affidavit indicates that the school’s security cameras verified all events leading up to the moment the suspect and the victim went into the bathroom, which lacks camera coverage.
The Mesquite Independent School District informed parents that the student who allowed Elijah access to the building would face disciplinary action.
Parents expressed worries regarding the duration he went unnoticed and the district’s choice to delay informing them until the following day about the incident.
