An 81 year old man caused havoc at a band event at Pasadena Memorial High School, Texas, on Saturday evening, shooting one individual, according to a Pasadena ISD representative. The police swiftly intervened and apprehended the shooter, who they confirmed had no ties to either the school or the event.

The victim, described as a "young man" by school officials, was not a student, and it was later revealed by Angleton ISD that he was a percussion technical consultant for Angleton High School. As reported by Fox 26, the assailant, now in custody, gained access to the high school via a backdoor during a Texas Color Guard Circuit drum line competition taking place on the Pasadena ISD campus.

This incident led to the abrupt cancellation of an event attended by hundreds of local high school musicians. The elderly gunman hid behind a pillar and fired at least one shot from a "small caliber weapon" in a hallway leading to the auditorium before being tackled by an alert parent, as per Pasadena police.

Several bystanders and Pasadena ISD police quickly joined in to help subdue the suspect, who had no connection to the contest, confirmed district spokesperson Art Del Barrio. He further noted that 43 students, two band directors, and the consultant were leaving the competition at Pasadena Memorial when the shooting took place.

The district verified that all 43 students were safe and were returned to Angleton unharmed, reports the Mirror US

"Our thoughts and prayers are with all involved. I am so proud of our staff members, police from our district and city, and community members who made sure there was no further harm that could have taken place," said district spokesperson Art Del Barrio. The school will resume on Monday for both students and staff, including those from other affected campuses.

Angleton ISD has also confirmed that counselors will be available on Monday morning to support impacted students. Following the incident, the district plans to introduce additional security measures next week to bolster safety at their schools.

However, it's been highlighted that safety systems don't always prevent tragedies in school shootings. A recent report disclosed that an AI system at Antioch High School, designed to detect weapons, reportedly failed to spot Solomon Henderson's gun before his deadly attack.

The Tennessean reported that a Metro Nashville Public Schools spokesperson stated the software, named Omnilert, is part of the camera network across MNPS campuses. In February 2023, the district invested over $1 million into this software following approval by the MNPS board.