Active Shooter at Texas School ‘Arrested and Secured’ After Incident in Art Class, Weapon Revealed

A suspect in the active shooter situation at Santa Fe High School has been “arrested and secured”, according to an assistant principal at the school, Fox 45 Now reports. The high school near Houston, Texas is on lockdown following the shooting.

A federal official and a county official told KHOU 11 that multiple students were killed in the shooting and an officer was also wounded.

The school district said that there have been confirmed injuries.

The Santa Fe school district announced that the situation is active but “contained” and that students are being taken to the Santa Fe Independent School District Alamo Gym where parents can reunite with their children.

Law enforcement responded to the situation around 8 a.m. Friday after receiving reports of shots fired.

CBS News reports that in addition to the Santa Fe Police Department and the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI is also reporting to offer assistance. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said on social media that it was also responding to the scene.

Witnesses say the shooting took place in an art class on campus between 7:30 and 7:45 a.m. and that the shooter was using a shotgun.

Police have not confirmed witness reports that the shooter was using a shotgun.

Speaking to CNN, 14-year-old student Angelica Martinez described what happened, sharing that the reported shooting occurred early in the school day.

“It was just a normal like class day,” Martinez said, explaining that she believed a fire drill was occurring and went outside with other students, following fire drill procedure.

“We were all standing [outside], but not even five minutes later, we started hearing gunshots,” she added. “And then everybody starts running.”

“I didn’t see anybody shooting, but like [the gunshots] were kind of spaced,” Martinez recalled, adding that she heard about four shots.

Dr. Cris Richardson, assistant principal of Santa Fe High School, has since told reporters that there was an active shooting inside the school and that one person has been arrested, CNN reports.

“We have done an amazing job to get the students out of the building safely and to reunited them with parents as we are able to and that’s about all I can tell you right now,” Richardson said.

Santa Fe is a city of about 13,000 residents, located 30 miles southeast of Houston. Santa Fe High School has more than 1,400 students in grades 9-12.

Law enforcement responded to the same school in February when it was placed on lockdown after students and teachers said they heard “popping sounds.” Santa Fe police swept the campus but found no threat.