Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Houston elementary school fight left 9-year-old with severe head injuries as mom demands answers: ‘I’m still mind-boggled’

Nine-year-old Kason was severely injured in the fight, and now says he is too scared to return to school.

Isabel Keane
in New York
Tuesday 09 September 2025 14:33 BST
Comments
5th grade student says his friend was shot shielding him from bullets

An argument between two Texas elementary school students escalated into a nasty fight, with a 9-year-old boy getting slammed into the ground — leaving him with severe head injuries, according to a report.

The brawl broke out around 1:30 p.m. Friday inside the gymnasium at Samuel Walker Houston Elementary School in Huntsville, a Houston suburb, Click 2 Houston reported.

Jenna Heniser’s son, Kason, was severely injured in the fight — and was left so traumatized he is now fearful to return to school, his mother says.

Heniser said a school district representative told her Monday that Kason, a fourth-grade student, and another child had been arguing for several minutes before Kason was slammed to the ground.

“I’m still mind-boggled that it even happened. I can’t even think straight, honestly,” Heniser told the outlet.

A 9-year-old boy in Texas was left with severe head injuries following a fight with another student in gym class, his mom said.
A 9-year-old boy in Texas was left with severe head injuries following a fight with another student in gym class, his mom said. (PA Archive)

The two students were apparently arguing over a basketball, because “the kid wasn’t playing with it and other kids wanted to play with it,” Heniser said.

“They just kept going back and forth, and the kid was kicking at him, hitting and this and that and tried to sling him a couple of times and I guess he finally got him and I don’t know if he actually slammed him or slung him to the ground,” she said.

The campus went into a “temporary hold” status as an ambulance was called, according to a letter sent to parents. Kason was taken to a nearby hospital before he was airlifted to Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.

“His initial CT showed he had severe swelling on his brain,” Heniser said. “He was sedated, so they had to lift his sedation to see if he would respond to verbal commands, which thank God he did.”

Now the mom is demanding answers from the school district, looking to know why it took so long for someone to intervene and where the teachers were to stop it. She is also demanding to see a video that was taken of the incident.

“When we send our kids to school, I mean, we expect them to be safe, to be protected,” Heniser said. “I mean, I understand kids will be kids, but there are adults in that situation that are there just supposed to be protecting them.”

Heniser told the outlet she has filed a report with Child Protective Services.

Meanwhile, doctors ran an MRI on Kason’s leg and spine on Monday. While he can walk, he still feels dizzy, his mother said.

It was unclear when the boy will be released from the hospital.

Huntsville Independent School District did not immediately return a request for comment from The Independent.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in