HISD says a tip led to the arrest, and 29-year-old Charetta Kemp admitted to police she had parked her vehicle on campus with a loaded 9mm pistol inside.
As Fondren Middle School let out for the weekend, students like Kevin Zuniga started piecing together what they saw earlier Friday.
"They were trying top calm her down and that's when the cops came and they put her in the cop car," Zuniga said.
A science tutor had been arrested after police say she brought a loaded gun on campus in her vehicle.
"That's not right, they might shoot somebody," Zuniga said.
Kemp has been a tutor at Fondren Middle since August of 2011. She was originally hired as a math tutor, but till Friday, was most recently helping students with science.
Parents we spoke with after school say they had not heard anything yet of the arrest.
"No, I haven't heard nothing at all actually, and that's very concerning," parent Violet Barragan said.
Kemp is to be charged with illegal possession of a weapon on campus. That's a third degree felony.
We don't know why Kemp might have had the gun or if she gave investigators any explanation. No one answered at her apartment when we attempted to get her side of the story.
"It coulda been a really bad situation that caused her to have it," parent Servetric Everson said.
Teacher, student or otherwise, just the thought of a gun on campus rattles nerves, folks there say. The tragedy in NewTown, Connecticut, is still fresh.
HISD says the principal has now alerted all parents of the incident.
At last report, Kemp was being booked still by police. HISD says Kemp resigned in lieu of termination. The district reiterates that safety is its top priority.
A law that went into effect in September 2011, makes it legal for anyone with a concealed handgun license to keep a gun locked up in their car at work, even if the workplace policy prohibits a guns on property. However, this law doesn't apply to schools and certain industrial sites.
___________________________________________________________
Take ABC13 with you!
Download our free apps for iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry devices