CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A shooter at a Texas high school is in custody, but a lockdown is still in place and law enforcement remain on scene,…
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A shooter at a Texas high school is in custody, but a lockdown is still in place and law enforcement remain on scene, school officials reported.
Santa Fe High School Assistant Principal Cris Richardson told ABC13 Friday the shooter was arrested.
She wouldn’t comment on the number of students injured but said she “hoped the worst was over.”
The school district also released a statement saying there were “confirmed injuries” and updates would be released. Other students are being taken to a nearby gym to be reunited with their parents, the statement reads.
Witnesses fleeing the scene described a shooter opening fire inside a classroom, as students ran from the school, jumping over fences and fleeing to a nearby carwash, according to KTRK-TV in Houston.
TV aerial footage showed groups of students being herded out of the rear of the school and a sheet believing cover a body on the lawn outside. Yellow buses stood at the ready to shuttle students away.
Tyler Turner, a student at the school, told KTRK-TV a few of his friends saw the gunman with what appeared to be a shotgun inside the school and pulled the fire alarm, prompting students out of their classrooms.
Megan Hunter came out of her classroom and followed the rush of students fleeing the school. “I was shaking, my anxiety was bad,” she told the news station. “I don’t even know what to think.”
Students described bloodied students fleeing the school and several stretchers of injured students ferried to ambulances. The incident occurred around 7:40 a.m.
One student, who identified herself as Paige to KRTK-TV, said she hid backstage of an auditorium as the first shots rang out. She called her mom on her cellphone, who told her to remain calm, breathe and follow the teachers’ directions. “I was very, very scared,” she said.
As she hid backstage, Paige said she wasn’t surprised that the shooting was unfolding at her school.
“It’s been happening everywhere,” she said. “I always felt eventually it would happen here, too.”
A dispatcher at the Santa Fe Police Department told the (Corpus Christi) Caller-Times officers were still on the scene. Galveston County Sheriff’s Office, Houston police, ATF, and SWAT also responded. Several ambulances are there. The Harris County sheriff tweeted deputies from his office also were on scene.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Contributing: The Associated Press
