People walk down the road outside YES Prep Southwest Secondary school after a shooting on Friday, Oct. 1, 2021 in Houston.
People walk down the road outside YES Prep Southwest Secondary school after a shooting on Friday, Oct. 1, 2021 in Houston.
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
  • Police arrested an armed man who shot a principal at his former school on Friday, ABC 13 reported.
  • The shooting occurred at YES Prep Southwest Secondary in Houston, Texas.
  • The principal suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
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A former student was arrested after shooting the principal with a rifle at a school in Houston, Texas, police say.

The shooting occurred around 11:45 a.m. on the campus of YES Prep Southwest Secondary on Friday morning. Chief Troy Finner of the Houston Police Department said the suspect, armed with a rifle, shot a locked glass door to enter the building, ABC 13 reported.

Police said the suspect shot at the school's principal, Eric Espinoza, injuring him, according to KHOU.

In a statement on Friday, the school said that Espinoza was taken to a local hospital "after a bullet grazed him from behind." He was released on Friday.

"We had an incredibly frightening day and are immensely grateful there were no life-threatening injuries after a 25-year-old former student shot through a window in our front entry," Mark DiBella, CEO, YES Prep Public Schools, said in the statement.

"School administrators, staff, and students immediately responded to the threat by going safely into lockdown, as rehearsed in practice drills, and the suspect surrendered his weapon as soon as police arrived," the statement said.

Finner said the suspect surrendered without incident. Police did not identify the suspect, but family members later confirmed that the accused shooter was 25-year-old Dexter Kelsey, according to KPRC-TV.

"I apologize to the school community because I didn't know Dexter was in this state of mind that he was in," Kelsey's mother, Doris, told KPRC-TV. "I didn't know he had the issues that he was going through and I apologize to everybody and I hope they accept my apology."

No students were wounded during the incident. The school canceled classes from Monday through Wednesday next week, according to reports.

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