HISD teacher arrested on assault charges

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - A teacher at North Forest High School in northeast Houston is being held at the Harris County jail after being arrested on Sunday.

According to an HISD police incident report, Weatherford is accused of sexually assaulting a child then attempting to commit suicide with a gun, However, the report says the 42-year-old teacher was not successful in his attempt because there were no bullets in the gun.

At the school, students said he was generally known as a nice teacher.

According to his HISD bio, Weatherford served in the U.S. Navy for 20 years before joining the high school 2 years ago as a junior ROTC teacher.

“You're around other children every day, you know, working. It's just sad. I'm shocked,” said Sharikka Dickson, a parent of a North Forest High School student.

FOX 26 News went by his house in Spring. No one was home, but there was a toy on the front lawn.
HISD officials have since released this statement, saying:

“The employee was immediately removed from the classroom pending the outcome of an investigation. we take situations such as this very seriously, and we are cooperating fully with law enforcement officials,”

Weatherford's next court date is scheduled for Tuesday morning at 9 a.m.