Officials evacuating the school and locking down the district after sheriff says a 14 year-old freshman opened fire at school, injuring one student before killing herself.
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Dodson said the injured student ran outside seeking help and was taken to a hospital with injuries that weren’t considered life threatening. Hucke didn’t specify which patient was released, but officials said the injured officer was transferred to a hospital in Odessa. He has been hospitalized.
Officers were also on the scene of nearby Sul Ross State University because of a reported bomb threat, he said.
It was ultimately determined to be a hoax.
While authorities praised the quick response of multiple law enforcement agencies – Alpine Police, Brewster County deputies, Texas Game Wardens, Border Patrol agents and Texas state troopers among them – Dodson also told reporters the shooting “could’ve been a lot worse”, though he didn’t elaborate.
The sheriff said the threat was later deemed a hoax, but that it required officers to rush to the university from the high school.
“It’s an ongoing investigation and we are working closely with law enforcement”, Watley said.
The Brewster County Sheriff’s Office initially said two shooters were believed to be on the loose, but Dodson said later that with the initial shooter dead, no others were being sought. “This is Alpine. It is a peaceful place to live and come”, Dodson said, adding, “it could have been a lot worse”.
Alpine Police Chief Russell Scown said first responders didn’t initially realize the dead 14-year-old was the shooter. She confirmed that the 14-year-old had moved to the area about six months ago, but she declined to discuss other details.
Law enforcement saved the day banging on the classroom door and commenced in ushering the students and staff out.
“That’s ridiculous for someone to call in something like this when we’ve got this situation going on”, Dodson said.
Early reports of there being two shooters on the loose have been retracted due to the single shooter being killed, as reported by Sheriff Ronny Dodson.
Elizabeth Carter, a lieutenant at the Texas Department of Public Safety, said someone brought a gun onto the Alpine High School campus Thursday morning.
Eldred didn’t immediately provide additional information, other than the person being sought was a male.
“We thought we still had an active shooter out there”, he said.
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Alpine is 220 miles southeast of El Paso.
