Man arrested after Valentine ‘prank’

By Sam Waller

Moran resident Tate Tabor was arrested Tuesday after his son brought a valentine box to his kindergarten party with commercial fireworks and “fuses.”

Classes at Moran Independent School District were briefly interrupted Tuesday, Feb. 14 when the “suspicious package” was discovered by a teacher between 8:30 and 8:45 a.m.

Tabor was later arrested on charges of “prohibited weapon,” with additional charges pending.

Moran superintendent Dr. John Denson said protocols were followed and school officials took the opportunity to turn the episode into a learning experience for staff and students.

“A student brought a valentine’s box that had fireworks in it,” Denson said. “They were hot-glued into the box and had fuses on them.”

Denson said the object was removed to the bus barn and the Shackelford County Sheriff’s Department was contacted.

“We went into a soft lockdown, then decided once law enforcement got here that we’d treat it like a drill,” Denson said. “We ended up with officers from the Texas Rangers, Department of Public Safety, ATF, and Shackelford County.”

After the Abilene Bomb Squad secured the package a little after 11:30 a.m., classes were allowed to resume.

“We had to wait a while for law enforcement to investigate,” he said. “As soon as the investigation was over and they said the campus was safe, we brought the kids back to school.”

Denson said students were evacuated from and returned to the building with no problems.

“Everything went smoothly – nobody was ever in any danger – but we followed protocol to err on the side of safety.”

Denson said class valentine parties were held as planned later in the day.

“Everything seems to be back to normal,” he said.

Denson, who was attending the San Angelo Stock Show on Tuesday before returning to Moran to handle the incident, said being able to conduct a safety drill during the event was beneficial.

“It was a good opportunity for our district to work with Texas law enforcement,” he said. “We can reflect on what happened and if something else occurs, learn from the incident.”