Suspect in custody after Houston school shooting leaves 1 injured

A former student opened fire inside a Houston charter school, injuring an employee, the city's police chief said Friday. The 25-year-old suspect was taken into custody without incident and no students were injured.

At 11:46 a.m. CT, police responded to reports of a shooting at the YES Prep Southwest Secondary school. The front door of the building was locked but the suspect gained entry into the building by shooting through a glass door, Chief Troy Finner said. 

The suspect immediately fired his rifle, shooting the school employee in the back, Finner said. The wounded employee was transported to a local hospital in serious condition.

"I don't think anybody, or any kid, should witness this but it's the world that we live in," Finner said.

Students at the school, YES Prep Southwest Secondary, were transported to a staging area where parents could pick them up, the school said. Nearly 1,000 students attend the school, ranging from grades 6 through 12. 

The school asked parents to avoid driving to the school and instead instructed them to reunite with students at a nearby staging area. "Please do not drive to the school; roads are blocked by the Houston Police Department. We are gathering information and will pass (it) along as soon as we can," the statement said. 

Tonya Armstrong, a parent, said her daughter called her and said a shooter was inside her school's building. "I was trying to be calm and I see all these kids running out with their hands up and crying," Armstrong told KTRK. "And my heart was just broken."

One student said the school had practiced active shooter drills just two days prior to the shooting. The student said she saw a "shot up" window and blood in the hallway. 

"First, they told us to run outside, then they told us to run into the gym and get in a room, close the door, turn off the lights and get on the ground," the student told KTRK. "It was really scary.  Everybody was crying. I was trying to keep everybody calm." 

"We had just practiced lockdown and now it's really happening," she added