Sparks school shooter’s father hit him in 2012

SPARKS — The father of the Sparks Middle School shooter pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor child abuse charge last year after he self-reported to school counselors his son struck him and the father hit him back, blackening the boy’s eye.

Deputy Washoe County District Attorney John Helzer said Thursday Jose Reyes originally was charged with a felony after he hit his then 10-year-old son, Jose, in the nose and face in January 2012.

But Helzer says he supported dropping the charge to a misdemeanor because Reyes cooperated fully with law officers, who determined he’d been involved in “no other incidents remotely similar.”

KOLO-TV first reported on the arrest on Wednesday.

Police are investigating whether Reyes may have illegally allowed his son access to the handgun the boy used to kill a teacher and wound two classmates before committing suicide on Oct. 21.