ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — A father who forced his way onto a Ferguson-Florissant School District bus and pointed a loaded gun at students will spend more than three years in prison after pleading guilty to 11 charges.
Christian Goodson, 32, pleaded guilty Wednesday to seven counts of child endangerment, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, second-degree property damage and fourth-degree assault in connection with the Feb. 12, 2020, incident.
The bus was carrying students from the Johnson-Wabash 6th Grade Center, a school in the Ferguson-Florissant School District. Goodson was the father of two of the students on the bus, according to court records.
Principal Tangie Francwar described the situation in a letter to parents the day it happened.
She said the school's Bus No. 541 stopped at Fay and Canyon drives in Berkeley while a fight was happening at the bus stop. According to the charging documents, the fight involved one of Goodson's children. Students boarded the bus, and Goodson tried to follow after them, Francwar said.
The driver and bus monitors tried to stop him from boarding and even closed the door, but he pulled out a gun and broke out the bus' door window. According to the charging documents, the gun was a loaded pistol.
"Fearing Suspect would open fire, a school bus monitor opened the door and allowed Suspect to enter the school bus," the charging documents stated.
He and other adults then boarded the bus, threatening the driver and students. Goodson pointed the pistol at the driver, two monitors and seven middle school students and stated "you got what you wanted," according to the charging documents. The students then ran to the back of the bus in fear of being shot, police said.
As part of the plea deal, Goodson was sentenced to five years in prison. He has been in custody since the day of the incident, and that time served will count toward his five-year sentence.