Crime and Courts

Parent at Texas school band competition tackles gunman who hurt 1: Officials

The man in his 80s entered the competition and discharged a small-caliber weapon, police said.

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A parent tackled a man who opened fire during a band competition at a Houston-area high school as several others then helped disarm and detain him in a shooting that injured one person, officials said.

The man in his 80s entered Pasadena Memorial High School on Saturday evening during the competition that involved students from numerous school districts and discharged a small-caliber weapon, police said.

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Police said in a statement they did not yet know a motive in the shooting.

The Angleton Independent School District said the person who was injured was a percussion technical consultant for their band. Police said the man, who the district said was struck in the shoulder, was taken to a hospital and was in stable condition.

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The man who opened fire wasn’t affiliated with the competition, according to the Pasadena Independent School District.

He was tackled by a parent after discharging the weapon and then school district police and “several good Samaritans” helped apprehend him, the district said.

“Within 60 seconds a suspect was disarmed and they prevented further shooting by this suspect,” Pasadena police Chief Jerry Wright said at a news conference.

The Pearland Independent School District said in a statement that some parents of the students in their district “bravely intervened, successfully subduing the individual and detaining them until law enforcement arrived.”

Copyright The Associated Press
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