Police shot dead a gunman at a Dallas area gym where about 150 children — including some as young as 4 — were attending a day camp, authorities said.
The shooting took place around 8:45 a.m. Monday at the Duncanville Fieldhouse, where the suspect entered the lobby with a handgun and fired a round while talking to a staff member, Assistant Police Chief Matthew Stogner said.
No children, employees or officers were injured during the incident.
Naomi Rodgers, an 18-year-old camp counselor, told NBC DFW she was about to play a game with a group of 40 children in a classroom when the first gunshot rang out.
A staffer then ran into the room, locked the door and alerted Rodgers to an active shooter situation.
“The shooter actually came to our door … and he said if we didn’t let him see who he wanted to see, he was going to shoot the place up,” Rodgers recalled.
Duncanville police said they were called to the field house at about 8:45 a.m. on reports that an armed man was inside the site where approximately 250 children between ages 4 and 14 were attending camp. NBC DFW
According to police, none of the children were hurt. NBC DFW
The incident comes three weeks after an 18-year-old gunman entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and massacred 21 people, including 19 children. NBC DFWThe counselor said the armed intruder then fired a round at the glass door.
“The glass started to fall and I just started to pray then because that’s all I could do,” Rodgers said. “I know what happened at Uvalde … and I was like ‘This cannot happen. Not today. Not today.'”
The man then went to the gym, which also contained children, at which point Stogner said officers arrived and shot the suspect in an exchange of gunfire.
Duncanville Mayor Barry Gordon told WFAA that the officers had just recently undergone active shooter training. NBC DFW
As of Tuesday, police have not yet identified the shooter or revealed a motive. NBC DFW
The shooting took place around 8:45 a.m. Monday at the Duncanville Fieldhouse. NBC DFWThe man was administered first aid before being taken to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
As of Tuesday, police have not yet identified the shooter or revealed a motive.
Stogner said police arrived within two minutes of getting a call about a gunman at the gym.
All children attending the camp in Duncanville were moved to a nearby recreation center where they were picked up by their parents. NBC DFW
The assailant was administered first aid before being taken to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. NBC DFWDuncanville Mayor Barry Gordon told WFAA that the officers had just recently undergone active shooter training.
“Our officers did not hesitate,” Gordon said. “They did what they were trained to do and saved lives.”
The incident comes three weeks after an 18-year-old gunman entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and massacred 21 people, including 19 children.
According to police, the gunman was fatally struck by officers. NBC DFW
According to one of the counselors, the shooter fired a round into the door. NBC DFWIn Uvalde, heavily armed police officers waited in a school hallway for 77 minutes before confronting and killing the school shooter.
All children attending the camp in Duncanville were moved to a nearby recreation center, where they were picked up by their parents.
“It could’ve been really bad today,” Tomisha Johnson, whose daughter works as a counselor at the summer camp, told Fox4. “It could’ve been really bad, but thank God it wasn’t.”
