ANTIOCH – The Antioch school district has agreed to pay $1.25 million to the family of a 16-year-old student killed in a shooting on campus, after officials repeatedly raised safety concerns at Deer Valley High School.
The filing in the family case paints a poor picture of the institution’s conditions and how it prepares for rival sporting events that are known to draw large crowds. The school was in violation of state laws requiring a comprehensive security program and security guard certification, according to the lawsuit. There were not enough security guards assigned to the campus.
In retrospect, one former school board member gave the high school a “D” grade for safety in response to a question during the 2025 release. Another revealed that senior officials became fearful and “tried to cover their tracks” after the killing of 16-year-old Jonathon Parker, because they knew there were serious security concerns.
“We can do better, and I think the district should have done better,” Ellie Householder, a school board trustee from 2018 to 2022, testified last year. “And I think Jonathon Parker didn’t have to die.”
School officials say they have made campuses safer in the years since Parker was killed.
“The district has taken meaningful steps to strengthen security measures, improve oversight, work closely with community partners to support safe campuses, and intentionally create a culture of care where every student feels safe, supported, and connected,” said Jag Lathan, AUSD board president, in a statement.
At Deer Valley High’s basketball game against Antioch High, Parker was shot and killed in a dark campus parking lot as he, his brother and two friends tried to fend off about 25 attackers — a mix of teenage boys and adults. Three months ago, police testified, about 20 students got into a fight near the school’s football field.
Despite the warning signs, when Parker’s killer, 15, opened fire, there were no police officers at the school, no security guards on site and the security forces were not trained to handle school shootings, according to witness testimony.
Parker’s mother told the news agency that her killers may have been upset that Parker intervened when they were abusing another student days ago. He was 6-foot-4 and sometimes served as a “protector” for students who were having a hard time defending, he said in 2020.
Court records show that Parker saw an accident the night he was killed and called his brother for help, telling him, “there are other people here from an earlier incident,” his brother testified in 2022.
Parker’s brother came to take him home, but Parker stopped to chat with friends on his way to the parking lot, including a campus security guard headed in the opposite direction.
After a while, a crowd began to form and seemed to be arguing. Parker told his brother to “hurry up” to the car, but it was too late. Parker, his brother and two friends were surrounded by more than twenty people.
They chose what seemed to be the only way, his brother said. Parker squared off in a one-on-one fight with Daiveon Allison, then 15 years old, from Pittsburgh, who was convicted in juvenile court of murder.
After about a minute of fighting, chaos broke out. Four youths were attacked by a mob. Parker’s brother was knocked to the ground and kicked until one of his ribs broke. He was on the pavement when he heard gunshots and panicked to help his brother. Parker collapsed and died the next day at the hospital.
“(He called my name.” He ended up saying that), his brother testified.
After that, the police explained the signs that violence has become prevalent in the high school.
In 2017, police responded to five reports of fighting. In 2018, there were four, Sgt. Loren Bledsoe testifies. By 2019, that number had risen to 11.
In 2020, former Superintendent Stephanie Anello — who was fired in 2024 amid allegations of staff abuse and harassment — said staffing levels were “adequate” and there was “absolutely no indication that anyone was planning to commit such a heinous act.”
But former AUSD trustee Crystal Sawyer-White testified that safety concerns had been raised before Parker’s death.
He mentioned how a Richmond parent had threatened the deputy principal of Deer Valley before a sports event and said there had been concerns about lighting at that time. During his campus tour, he noticed that there were no cameras in the parking lot where Parker was killed. He stated that the district “failed” to keep him safe, and when asked, again gave the school a D grade for safety.
“As far as sporting events, you know, that wasn’t a safe place for John John to be,” she said, using Parker’s nickname.
The owner agreed. He pointed out that the district seemed too focused on adopting a safety plan that simply “checked the box,” adding, “I had this idea that things were messed up, but I was just stoned with information.”
Looking back, he said the elders should not have allowed such a large crowd to gather without intervention.
The lights were dim, the gates were locked, why were there so many children there? The owner of the house testified. “To me, it’s not rocket science.”
Since then, the homeowner acknowledged that things have changed for the better, but added that he disagrees with the details and the time he served on the school board. In an email to this news organization, he said AUSD has shown “real growth … regarding student safety.” Six months after Parker’s murder, the city accepted a $750,000 grant to put police officers back on school campuses.
Authorities say Parker’s death has fueled a cycle of revenge among youths in Antioch and Pittsburgh.
A letter obtained by the news agency from one of Parker’s teachers, written shortly after his death, describes the lasting impact.
He wrote that several young people were preparing to rob him at the BART station until they saw him as a teacher Parker liked and stopped.
“Jonathan would not like who we are,” said one, according to the book.
Judith Prieve contributed to this report.
