Plastic Surgeon in Mesquite, TX

The district said in a statement that none of the injuries are life-threatening.

MESQUITE, Texas — Several students at a Mesquite ISD elementary school were injured after a gust of wind lifted a bounce house they were in, school officials said.

In a statement, the district said the students were injured during a play day event at Lawrence Elementary. The injured students were taken to a hospital for further evaluation.

WFAA spoke with one 4th grade student who was injured. That student's family requested to remain anonymous. “I saw one of my classmates laying on the ground unconscious," said the student. “I saw a lot of my classmates crying."

The student said a fourth-grade class was playing on the ball bounce house when a gust of wind blew past.

“It was tipping over a little bit, and then it just like flew into the air," said the student. “I knew I was going to get hurt in some kind of way, but I didn't know how. And it was really scary.”

Fifth-grader Isrea Rodriguez witnessed the bounce house flip. He said he ran to alert teachers and began helping students.

"A few of my friends ran over there too to help me get the kids from under. Then, we started checking up on the kids on the ground," said Rodriguez.

His mother, Vicenta Rodriguez, called him a hero.

“The joy of his teacher telling me, you know, like he's a hero, he's very brave for that, it melts my heart," said Vicenta.

Mesquite ISD said in a statement, "We have been in direct contact with these families and are grateful to report none are life-threatening."

Witnesses said some students on the bounce house suffered broken bones. No other students were harmed and they continued the school day indoors, the district said, with the rest of the play day's activities canceled.

Counselors have been made available for any students or staff who may need support after the incident, the district added.

"The district has launched an immediate investigation into the circumstances of the incident, and we are committed to reviewing every aspect of the event to ensure it never happens again," the district concluded in its statement. "Nothing matters more than protecting the children entrusted to our care."

Students said the bounce house was on concrete and was secured by sandbags.

"There was, I think, one big one, and then the rest were small," said one student.

"The bags weren't all the way on the thing. They were at the edge. That's kind of a safety hazard because you have to strap it down with the metal things that go in the grass. Plus, it was on the concrete," said Rodriguez.

WFAA reached out to the bounce house company but has not heard back.

“If you don’t have the proper equipment to weigh those things down, find somewhere else to put them," said Vicenta.

Mesquite ISD added that it would be suspending the use of all outdoor bounce houses at events for the remainder of this school year.

"This decision reflects our deep commitment to student safety and allows time for a thorough review of what occurred this morning," the district said in a statement. "Once that review is complete, we will evaluate the future use of inflatable structures at MISD events."

WFAA reached out to Bounce 'N' More, the company that rents out the bounce houses and a spokesperson provided the following statement:

"We are deeply saddened by the incident that occurred earlier today at Lawrence Elementary School during a field day event. Our thoughts are with everyone affected—students, families, teachers, staff, and the broader community. As a family business, this has been truly upsetting for all of us at Bounce N More. In nearly 20 years of operation, we have been proud to safely support over 3,000 events each year across North Texas, and we have never witnessed an incident of this nature. The total health and wellbeing of our customers has always been our greatest priority, and we have worked hard to uphold the highest of safety standards in every aspect of our work.While today’s event was self-staffed, an option available to all customers, we can confirm that all safety checks and procedures were followed during setup, including full function of all blowers, air tubes, and zippers, and anchored with sandbags as required for use on concrete. All safety measures were reviewed on-site and signed as required prior to the event, outlining evacuation procedures in the event of wind speeds exceeding 15 mph or rain, and with the unit’s safety rules and maximum occupancy of four properly displayed. We are conducting a thorough internal review as we await more information, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to safely serving the communities we love."

This is a developing story, please check back for updates.

A new entertainment venue is moving into the long-vacant former Sears space in Town East Mall in Mesquite.

The Mesquite City Council voted unanimously last week to bring Main Event to the site that’s been empty since North Texas’ last Sears store closed in 2021. The national entertainment chain has locations around the country, and nearly two dozen in Texas.

“While other malls may be withering and kind of going away, this mall is adding a really important catalyst, another anchor,” Council Member Jeff Casper said at the May 5 meeting.

He said it would also attract consumers outside of Mesquite.

Main Event would occupy the first floor of the former Sears space, which is 58,000 square feet. It will include things like bowling, laser tag, arcade games, escape rooms, billiards, and meeting and party rooms.

The city expects the new venue will create 200 new jobs, which is something local business owner Teresa Sotelo said would help boost the economy.

“I think a lot of people and youth would go,” she told KERA in Spanish. “And people would also like it because it would help bring jobs. I think it’s a very good option that’s worth the effort.”

Council Member Kenny Green said residents have for years been asking for more entertainment options in their city.

“You know, we used to have a putt-putt. We used to things like that that are no longer here,” Green said. “People are craving something to go do with the family.”

Adding Main Event is part of a larger redevelopment plan, according to Steve Meyer, of SRB Mesquite LLC, the owner of the Sears property at Town East.

The redevelopment includes more green space, reconfiguration of the parking lot, pad site location on street frontages and more restaurants.

“I think with the mix of Main Event and the other restaurants that we're talking to, it'll re-energize that very important intersection in your town,” Meyer told council members.

Daniel Rebensdorf, a representative for Main Event, said construction could take eight to nine months, but there’s not a definite date of when the venue would open.

Earlier this year the council voted to offer a tax incentive to keep the Macy’s anchor store at Town East for at least five more years.

Priscilla Rice is KERA’s communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at [email protected].

KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.

WASHINGTON — The US Army is considering scrapping General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GD-OTS) management of three new 155mm artillery round production lines in Mesquite, Texas, according to a “show cause” letter obtained by Breaking Defense.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the heavy use of artillery, the Army rushed to bolster 155mm production and produce 100,000 shells per month. As part of that broader push, it opened a new government-owned facility in Texas, tapping GD-OTS to operate it and stand up three Universal Artillery Projectile Lines (UAPL) to produce the metal parts for artillery projectiles, including the shell casings.

That work, though, has not gone smoothly, and the service is now “considering terminating” the GD deals for all three UPLA lines, according to a June 13 letter from Army Contracting Command (ACC) to the company.

“GD-OTS has failed to complete the projects on time or make meaningful progress towards meeting the required completion dates of design and installation of the three (3) UAPLs,” the Army wrote in the letter. A show cause letter is a formal document requiring an individual or company to detail why specific actions or inactions should not result in consequences — in this case, termination of the three production line deals.

As of mid-June, the service noted that GD-OTS had missed period of performance completion dates for both UAPL lines 1 and 2 — Nov. 22, 2024, and April 16 of this year, respectively — while noting that while the line 3 deadline doesn’t occur until March 3, 2026, that appears likely to slip too.

“Because GD-OTS has failed to meet significant milestones for UAPL 1, leading to six (6) missed First Article Test dates spanning April 2024 through June 2025, resultant schedule impacts have continued to extend [to] UAPL 2 and UAPL schedules,” the Army explained. “Specifically, for Line 3, since January 2025 alone GD-OTS’ estimate for equipment installation slipped three (3) months, thus extending total installation timeframe and subsequent line prove-out activities into 2027.”

Additionally, the service said that even after it was determined that Line 1 equipment did not meet “technical requirements of the contract,” the company continued shipping Line 3 equipment. As a result, there is a “significant risk” that similar Line 3 equipment will also not be up to snuff. Compounding the issue, on May 29 GD-OTS notified Army officials that it had halted work on UAPL 3 “on its own accord,” a decision taken without direction or concurrence from the service.

All taken together, the Army wrote, GD-OTS “is failing to make progress” on the third line.

“Because GD-OTS has failed to perform the UAPL Task Orders… within the timeframe required by the contractual terms, the USG is considering terminating” the deals but a final decision has not been made, the Army added. The letter does not go into detail about what other companies could be tapped to replace GD-OTS.

The letter gave GD-OTS 10 days to respond in writing and affirm if it is capable of completing the design and installation for the first two lines and produce either 10,000 M795 or M1128 projectile metal parts per month, and 10,000 M795 parts per month for that third line.

While an ACC official declined to discuss specifics of that show cause letter, they told Breaking Defense today that GD-OTS’s deadline has now been extended to July 10.

“We won’t get into specifics in the discussion with GD-OTS, but we have communicated to them that they have received an approved extension until 10 July to provide information on how they plan to fulfill their obligations on this contract,” the service official wrote in a brief statement. “ACC supports Army readiness and modernization by using best practices and expert-level oversight to provide warfighters with premier contracting support.”

A GD-OTS spokesperson confirmed that the show cause letter was referring to work at the Mesquite, TX facility but deferred to the Army for any other comments about the evolving situation.

Aaron Mehta contributed to this report.

MESQUITE, Texas - Students were injured on Friday when a gust of wind blew a Mesquite elementary school's bounce house into the air.

Bounce house injuries

What we know:

The incident happened on Friday morning at Lawrence Elementary's Play Day event.

The district says winds lifted the school's bounce house off of the ground.

Mesquite ISD says "some" students were injured and taken to the hospital for evaluation. None of the injuries are life-threatening.

The school canceled the rest of the Play Day activities.

Counselors are on campus for any student or staff who needs to talk.

The district says it is investigating.

What we don't know:

Mesquite did not say how many students were injured or what kind of injuries they sustained.

What they're saying:

"We are committed to reviewing every aspect of the event to ensure it never happens again. Nothing matters more than protecting the children entrusted to our care," wrote a Mesquite ISD spokesperson in a statement.

"It was real scary," said student Israel Rodriguez. "Some of the fourth graders, I knew them, they were my friends. One of them, his head was busted open, he was bleeding from his head and the other one he broke his hand, his bone was out."

Bounce 'N' More statement

A spokesperson for Bounce ‘N’ More, the company behind the bounce house, released a statement to FOX 4.

"We are deeply saddened by the incident that occurred earlier today at Lawrence Elementary School during a field day event. Our thoughts are with everyone affected—students, families, teachers, staff, and the broader community. As a family business, this has been truly upsetting for all of us at Bounce N More. In nearly 20 years of operation, we have been proud to safely support over 3,000 events each year across North Texas, and we have never witnessed an incident of this nature. The total health and wellbeing of our customers has always been our greatest priority, and we have worked hard to uphold the highest of safety standards in every aspect of our work.

While today’s event was self-staffed, an option available to all customers, we can confirm that all safety checks and procedures were followed during setup, including full function of all blowers, air tubes, and zippers, and anchored with sandbags as required for use on concrete. All safety measures were reviewed on-site and signed as required prior to the event, outlining evacuation procedures in the event of wind speeds exceeding 15 mph or rain, and with the unit’s safety rules and maximum occupancy of four properly displayed. We are conducting a thorough internal review as we await more information, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to safely serving the communities we love."

The Source: Information in this article comes from Mesquite ISD.