Anyone who’s been to high school can probably tell you a thing or two about pranks. They’re a common part of growing up, especially in environments where hundreds — sometimes thousands — of teenagers are thrown together.
But while I witnessed my fair share of practical jokes during my school years, I don’t remember ever seeing a prank that put someone’s life in danger.
Call me old‑fashioned, but there’s a clear line that should never be crossed: pranks that expose someone to real harm. Like, for example, deliberately exposing them to something they’re severely allergic to.
That’s exactly what happened at Lake Travis High School in Texas last year, when Carter Mannon’s football teammates decided to sprinkle peanuts in his locker.
Carter’s serious peanut allergy was diagnosed when he was just nine months old.
“We had him sitting on the counter, and my husband was making a peanut butter sandwich right next to him. Carter reached his hand inside the peanut butter jar and smeared it on himself,” his mom, Shawna Mannon, told PEOPLE in February 2024. “He broke out in hives right away — it was a perfect handprint of hives. And that’s when we realized, ‘Oh, he must be allergic.’”
With careful management, Carter has been able to live a normal life, and he was thrilled to make the Lake Travis High School varsity football team.
But according to Shawna, his teammates — who knew about his allergy — filled his locker with peanuts.
Carter had already experienced a frightening incident at school when he accidentally ate a contaminated cookie. He needed two doses of his EpiPen and an ER visit.
“His levels are off the chart,” Shawna said. “You have this big strong kid, and one little peanut could take him down — could kill him.”
An EpiPen delivers emergency epinephrine during severe allergic reactions. As the Mayo Clinic notes, anaphylaxis must be treated immediately because it can be deadly.
The contaminated cookie was a reminder of how vulnerable Carter is. What his teammates allegedly did was something else entirely.
Shawna recalled: “They were kind of joking around about it and said, ‘But could it kill you if it touched you?’ And he says, ‘Yeah, it absolutely could.’ If it got in his nose, eyes, or mouth, that’s where it would trigger anaphylactic shock.”
Despite that warning, the next day — right before a game — Carter walked into the locker room to find peanuts scattered everywhere.
“They put peanuts in his locker, on his jersey, and in his cleats,” Shawna said. “It was a can of peanuts they just scattered throughout.”
Carter immediately broke out in hives on his arm. Shockingly, the boys involved faced minimal consequences: two days benched, a locker‑room switch, and extra running at practice.
Instead, Shawna says Carter became the target.
“There was a lot of verbal retaliation,” she said. “Someone even put a peanut butter granola bar in his backpack.”
Shawna reported the incident to the school board, but was told it did not meet the legal definition of bullying.
A Lake Travis Independent School District representative told PEOPLE: “Under the Texas Education Code, bullying is a very specific behavior… Upon concluding our investigation, it was determined that the legal elements of bullying were not met.”
Eventually, Carter transferred to another school.
What would you do if your child were subjected to something like this? Share your thoughts in the comments.
