A former YES Prep charter student armed with a rifle shot his way into the school’s southwest Houston campus and injured one staff member before surrendering to law enforcement Friday, police said. No students were injured.
The unidentified 25-year-old man shot through the locked front door of the school at 4411 Anderson Road, and made his way in around 11:45 a.m. Friday, police said.
The alleged shooter encountered a male staff member and shot him, according to Houston Police Chief Troy Finner.
The staff member was rushed to a hospital in the Texas Medical Center in serious condition and is undergoing surgery, Finner said.
Police responded in “minutes” and came upon the alleged shooter, who surrendered without incident, police said. SWAT teams were seen entering the building near 4400 Anderson Road at Hiram Clarke Road in search of anyone else possibly connected to the shooting, and quickly cleared the scene.
HPD set up a staging area for parents at West Fuqua Street and Hiram Clarke to pick up students, with officers on hand to assist.
The shooting happened around lunchtime, according to 11th-grade student Guadalupe, who was in the cafeteria when the man broke in.
According to the student, the school’s principal ran into the cafeteria and quickly spoke with another staffer before instructing everyone in the room to leave and exit the building.
Many students, including Guadalupe, were ushered into a packed classroom, where their teacher locked the door and where everyone remained quietly.
Guadalupe then texted a cousin who also attended the school, and learned about the shooting.
“I was just waiting to get out,” Guadalupe said. “I was really shocked, surprised, because I never really thought that it would happen to our school.”