Houston School Shooting: Principal 'Took A Shot' For Students

HOUSTON, TX — A day after a gunman opened fire at YES Prep Southwest Secondary School, at least one student at the charter school in southwest Harris County is offering gratitude to the principal they say saved their lives.

On Friday, a 25-year-old former student armed with a rifle shot through a window to get into the school. He shot Principal Eric Espinoza, who was taken to a hospital and underwent surgery, police said.

Espinoza was later released from the hospital with the bullet still in his back, though it did not impact any of his vital organs, according to police.

Student Alondra Villafuerte told ABC13 that Espinoza is "really brave for what he did."

"I really do thank him for trying to save us, because he really did save us," Villafuerte told the television station. "He actually took a shot for all of us and I really do thank that from him."

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The suspect is in police custody, though a motive is unknown. His identity will not be released until he is formally charged, authorities said.

Police were called to the school around 11:45 a.m. Friday. Houston police and firefighters, as well as the Harris County Sheriff's Office, raced to what students described as a frantic scene.

"When I was coming out, I saw blood and glass shattering everywhere. My teachers told me to stay back in the classroom where nobody can see you and officers came saying, 'Put your hands up. Go outside,'" a seventh-grader told ABC13.

Snapchat video taken outside the school showed a man in a blue shirt lying face-up on the grass near the school. He was attended to by what appeared to be emergency personnel and another adult. Someone can be heard saying, "C'mon! C'mon! C'mon! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!" in the video as emergency vehicles line the street.

YES Prep Southwest Secondary School has an enrollment of 544 students in grades six through 12, with 94 percent of its students Hispanic and 6 percent Black; 88 percent were classified as economically disadvantaged, according to U.S. News.

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