It was the beginning of a freaky day, which has resulted in multiple lockdowns after threats came in against other institutions.
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At some point during the clearing of the rest of the school, a Homeland Security officer was “accidentally” shot in the leg by a U.S. Marshal.
But that was only the beginning.
Sul Ross State University reported an active shooter threat Thursday morning, September 8, and campus-wide lockdown was in place on the Alpine Campus as of 10:30 a.m.
Threats were also received by a local hospital and university, but the sheriff tells us it doesn’t appear to be directly connected with the shooting.
Hucke said the hospital would provide a statement later Thursday. Stay with us as we continue to follow these tragic events. The sheriff says the victim “will be fine”.
The Brewster County Sheriff’s Office told The News there could be two shooting suspects, and that at least one person was taken to a hospital.
Nearby schools and the administration building were placed on lockdown during the earlier search for an “active shooter”.
“This community does not expect this”, Dodson said. However, the Varsity volleyball team will play at Alpine Middle Gym against Van Horn at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and 12 p.m.
Alpine is a town of about 5,900 people some 70 miles from the Mexico border.
Police ultimately determined that a fourteen-year-old freshman, who has not yet been named, shot a another teenage student, also a girl, in the hallway. Even though Dodson said he feels confident that the threats were pranks committed out of “meanness”, officials are taking them seriously.
“It was scary, I didn’t really know what was going to happen”, Butler said.
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“We were some of the first to come out”, Eric Alvarez, a city of Alpine worker, told Big Bend Now. Police officers patrolled the streets outside the school holding rifles and officers from other jurisdictions descended on Alpine in force.
