Texas school placed on lockdown after officer shot as police search for suspect

05 December 2023 , 17:35

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Northeast Early College High School in Austin, Texas, has been locked down

A school has been locked down after gunshots were heard in the area with reports suggesting a police officer was injured.

The Texas school warned students not to come to the campus. The school district confirmed a police officer was injured during an 'altercation' in the car park. A follow-up tweet said the officer does not require surgery for the injury.

Austin Independent School District wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "Northeast Early College High School is in Lockdown due to shots heard in the area. Police are responding. Please do not come to campus. We will update you as soon as we know more."

An Austin Independent School District police officer was shot at Northeast Early College High School Tuesday, sources told KXAN (KXAN Photo/Jala Washington)

Photos taken from the scene show a police cordon set up around an area of the car park. A later update read: "The campus is safe. Confirmation that an Austin ISD Police Officer sustained injuries during an altercation in the parking lot."

A reporter for Fox News added that, "Two law-enforcement sources tell me that an Austin ISD resource officer was attacked near Nelson Field across from Northeast early College high school, and shot in the leg. Gunman remains at large."

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CLEAT

saying, "We are all praying for the @AISDPolice Officer and CLEAT member who was shot in the line of duty today at a high school in Northeast Austin. Thankfully, his injuries are not life-threatening, and he is reported to be in stable condition."

The officer was taken to the hospital and their condition is unknown at this time (KXAN Photo/Jala Washington)

Concep Montoya, the parent of a Northeast Early College High School student, was with other concerned parents at a gas station near the school around noon. She told the Statesman that she "found out the school was on lockdown after her daughter," a sophomore, "sent her a text."

Montoya said the school did not update parents or tell them what was happening. Instead, the mother had to rely on texts from the child inside the building. She and other parents questioned officers in the area tasked with blocking off streets.

The situation made her "so angry" that she was "shaking," she told the publication. Although her daughter told her she would not be let into the school, Montoya said, "I was like, 'I don't care. You're there. So I'm there. And I'm going to stay there until you leave with me.'"

Charlie Jones