KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Story courtesy of WVLT) – The attorney representing a former Hardin Valley student charged with entering the schools without permission has released a statement, calling it a visitor-protocol issue.
The Ameesh Kherani with the Kherani Law Firm is representing Zain Madadali, the 2024 Hardin Valley Academy graduate facing six misdemeanor charges after authorities said he entered all three Hardin Valley schools on March 16.
Investigators said he was buzzed in by the front desk at all three schools and walked around HVA and Hardin Valley Elementary. He spent about an hour walking around HVA, speaking with several staff members, and about a half-hour inside the elementary school before being escorted off the premises.
As a result of the investigation, Madadali was arrested in Auburn, Alabama on March 24 and extradited back to Knoxville on Monday.
On Tuesday, Kherani released a statement on behalf of Madadali, saying he returned to Knoxville during spring break to reconnect with friends and former teachers. He also said Madadali “did not intend to violate school policy, create alarm, or disrupt school operations.”
“This was, at most, a visitor-protocol issue — not a threat case,” Kherani said. “Mr. Madadali was a recent graduate returning to schools he once attended to reconnect with teachers who helped him succeed, on his way back after spending time with his friends in Knoxville. Mr. Madadali was admitted into buildings, interacted openly with staff, and left when directed to do so.”
“School safety is vitally important, but so are accuracy, fairness, and proportionality,” Kherani said. “Escalating a disputed visitor-protocol matter into six misdemeanor charges, an out-of-state arrest, extradition proceedings, and jail time for a 20-year-old college student with no known criminal history demands careful public scrutiny and full judicial review.”
Madadali is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday morning.
