Looking for an event to take your family to this Easter weekend? We’ve compiled a list of a few free events happening around Dallas-Fort Worth this weekend DALLAS EASTER EVENTS Dallas Parks and Recreation Eggs’travaganzas FREE Saturday, March 30 Times vary by location Recreation centers across Dallas Eggs’travaganzas are being hosted at various recreation centers across Dallas. Featuring Easter egg hunts, arts and crafts, and more all put on by Dallas Parks & Recreation. Check the Dallas Parks & Rec calendar for details. Very Oak Cliff Easter FREE Saturday, March 30 12 p.m. – 4 pm. Cen ..read more

At the corner of Willowglen Drive and Town East Boulevard, the damage is disheartening. Still, the site of a boarded-up window and wall don’t hold a candle to the ‘what ifs’ streaming through Mary Mitchell’s mind. “It could’ve been worse than them being hurt,” said Mary Mitchell. Thursday, around 1 p.m., Mesquite Police say a driver, pulling out of a Walmart parking lot, collided with another truck before crashing into Mitchell’s home. “I opened the door and I see a gentleman on the ground., so I go to see if there’s something I can do,” she said. “Before I even got there, I noticed that the b ..read more

NBC 5 learned at least three Mesquite Charter School students were suspended after a classmate brought a gun to class and ended up in a standoff involving police. They said they’ve been disciplined because they failed to tell adults. Martha Fonseca said she taught her daughter to speak up. However, the situation at Pioneer Technology Arts Academy was beyond what she’d ever anticipated. “I’m sitting at work hearing this from my children and just trying to remain calm for them while they’re calling and texting and face-timing me to let me know they were ok,” she said. On February 19, a 16-year-o ..read more

Some parents at Pioneer Technology and Arts Academy are expressing outrage at disciplinary action handed down to a handful of students over how they reacted upon learning their classmate showed up to school armed with a gun. Mesquite police rushed to the public charter school on February 19 after an assistant principal called 911 reporting an armed student was holed in an office.  Body camera video shows officers trying to talk down the teen before opening fire after he appeared to raise his arms while holding a firearm. The teen suffered a minor injury and was taken into custody. NBC 5 h ..read more

Mesquite Police released body camera and surveillance video Tuesday of a shooting involving police officers and a 16-year-old student at the Pioneer Technology and Arts Academy on Feb. 19. Lt. Brandon Ricketts appeared in a community briefing posted on YouTube where the department shared released new details in the investigation along with the video of the shooting. Ricketts said a school administrator called Mesquite Police at 8:49 a.m. and said a student entered her office with a gun, was threatening himself and others, and refused to put it down. I’m the assistant principal and a student j ..read more

Days after a student brought a gun to school, Pioneer Technology and Arts Academy is closing school Friday. The announcement was made late Thursday after parents had the chance to speak directly with school leaders. In a post on social media, Executive Director Dr. Derrick Love said, “This is a necessary step to provide everyone in our community—parents, students, and staff alike—the space and time needed to process their emotions and feelings in the aftermath of what has occurred.” Dozens attended the parent meeting on campus. Administrators heard from not just parents but students, too, who ..read more

Craig Miller spent more than three decades in law enforcement and seven years as police chief at Dallas ISD. He now does consulting work on matters of school safety. Miller said Monday’s threat of an armed student on the campus of Pioneer Technology Arts & Academy in Mesquite underscores the need for strong relationships between schools and law enforcement. “It’s really following the training that you do. You’re going to perform how you practice,” Miller said. He says charter and private schools present a unique challenge compared to public districts that often have police officers on camp ..read more

At a bustling construction site outside of Dallas, there are hopes that Congress can finally pass nearly $95 billion in foreign aid including funding for Ukraine — because factory jobs in the United States depend on that money. Aerospace and defense company General Dynamics’ new factory in the Dallas suburb of Mesquite is expected to initially employ 150 people to produce munitions. Set to open in June, construction is nearing completion, with newly planted trees and shrubs already in place at the complex overlooking one of the area’s busiest interstates. “We want to increase our wages and inc ..read more

School was back in session at the Pioneer Technology and Arts Academy in Mesquite on Tuesday a day after police say an armed student was injured when shot at by officers. Mesquite Police are still investigating after they say a 16-year-old juvenile walked into the school office with a gun on Monday morning threatening to shoot himself and others on campus. Mesquite Police said the first 911 call was received at 8:49 a.m. and within two minutes their first officer was on campus. “From the time the call came until we had an officer on scene was two minutes,” said Lt. Brandon Ricketts. “Navigatin ..read more

Students at Oates Pioneer Technology & Arts Academy in Mesquite were the first to alert their parents that something was wrong. “I was really scared. I had to call my mom just in case,” Daneth Castañón said. Castañón said she was in the classroom next to where the shooting occurred. Talitha Conner received a text message from her daughter, a senior at the charter school. “She said they were on lockdown,” Conner said. “She heard the SWAT team pass by the classroom or wherever she was. And said (there’s an) active shooter, but he hasn’t been detained.” Other parents said they relied on emerg ..read more