Houston Police have identified and charged the suspected gunman who was involved in the shooting at YES Prep Southwest Secondary school in Texas Friday. Dexter Harold Kelsey,25, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault of a public servant and deadly conduct after he stormed the school and fired his weapon in an attempt to gain access to the school's main door.
According to a statement from the Houston Police Department, officers were called to respond to an active shooting around 11:45 am at the school located at 4400 Anderson Road at Hiram Clarke. Police arrived at the scene within minutes after the call was made and came upon the suspect who was armed with a rifle and had fired shots at the glass entrance door to get inside the building.
"When he came to the building, the front door, the glass door, was locked. He gained entry by shooting on the glass door and immediately fired upon one of the employees of the school," Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said.
Teachers and students were alerted by the school’s principal, Eric Espinosa as he assisted the children and staff to flee the school premises. As soon as the gunman entered the building, he took aim at the 36-year-old principal who sustained a bullet wound in his lower back.
Responding police officers were able to locate the suspect and he surrendered himself without further incident. At a press conference Friday, Finner said that Kelsey was a former student of the school and had already confessed to his actions.
Soon after the suspect was apprehended, first responders were on the scene to actively clear the building. The school’s principal was taken to the Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center Emergency Room for treatment of his injury and was later released.
Meanwhile, YES Prep Southwest Secondary School, which serves grades 6 through 12, released a statement Friday saying that “no students have been injured.”
One student told local media on how they were instructed by teachers to stay back in their classrooms where nobody could see them. The shooting incident occured just two days after the school had gone through an active shooter training. Finner commended the school and its students for remaining calm while authorities dealt with the suspect and evacuated the school.
