CRIME
Armed Student Shot By Police At Charter School In Dallas Suburb
Mesquite Police Department
An armed student was shot by police responding to a report of an active shooter at a charter school in the Dallas, Texas, suburb of Mesquite on Monday, officials said.
The Mesquite Police Department said officers responded to the Pioneer Technology & Arts Academy’s combined middle and high school campus at 3200 Oates Drive at around 8:49 a.m. Monday after a call reporting a person with a gun. The call was later changed to an active shooter call.
Officers attempted to negotiate with the suspect, and during the process of negotiating, an officer-involved shooting occurred.
The suspect was transported to the hospital with injuries sustained in the shooting. Although police did not identify the suspect, school officials confirmed the suspect was a student.
The student involved is currently in police custody, and we can confirm that there were no injuries, Shubham Pandey, the charter school’s district superintendent, said in a statement. Everyone on campus is safe and secure.
No other students or officers were injured, police said.
We are grateful that no children were injured in this incident, Mesquite police Sgt. Curtis Phillip said at a press conference.
We have rigorous safety protocols in place to handle such incidents effectively and efficiently to ensure the well-being of our school community, Pandey said. Today, those procedures were tested, and they worked as intended.
Students were evacuated one class at a time to the nearby Northside Baptist Church to be reunited with their families. The school said classes would resume as scheduled for the rest of the week.
PTAA will provide counseling services to the Mesquite Oates staff and students, the school said in a statement. We certainly understand students have experienced some level of trauma. Our students and staff are our ultimate priority.
TMX contributed to this article.
