CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Aransas Pass ISD student that caused campuses to be locked down Tuesday was shot and killed by Corpus Christi police after a hit-and-run crash near Crosstown Expressway and Trojan Drive, Aransas Pass police officials confirmed Wednesday.
Aransas Pass ISD campuses went into a three-hour lockdown around 1 p.m. Tuesday while officers searched for a student that was seen with a gun on campus, police said. The student was being searched by officials when he fled the scene.
“We received a report of a student on the high school property that was armed with a firearm,” Police Chief Eric Blanchard said. “Now, he wasn’t using it, didn’t shoot it, didn’t hurt nobody but was supposedly carrying a weapon.”
Officers issued a "be on the lookout" warning to surrounding areas while searching for the student.
Then, just before 3 p.m., Corpus Christi officers responded to a major crash on Crosstown near Trojan Dr. The person who caused the crash, which is now known to be the Aransas Pass ISD suspect, fled the scene on foot after firing a gun towards officers, officials said.
Eventually officers were able to locate a person matching the suspect's description near Moody High School, which went on lockdown because of the situation. CCPD investigators said the suspect was aiming a gun toward the campus when officers put themselves in between the campus and the suspect to "prevent loss of life."
The suspect was eventually caught on the 1700 block of Hickory where he again pulled a gun on officers, forcing officers to use deadly force, investigators said.
The student was shot and rushed to an area hospital. Corpus Christi police later provided an update on social media that the suspect had died from his injuries.
"Anytime an officer must use deadly force it is tragic, it is even more unsettling that a troubled young man with a gun placed an officer in a position that forced him to discharge his firearm," a statement from CCPD said. "Through our investigation, we believe officers did everything they could to bring this incident to a peaceful resolution."
Officers found a gun they said belonged to the suspect at the scene.
Aransas Pass PD and Corpus Christi PD are working together on this investigation.
"The event is tragic for all parties involved, including several of our parents, staff and students, and we will continue to work to find answers as to why and how a youth would resort to such a state in life," a statement from Aransas Pass PD said.
Details are still limited as the investigation is ongoing.
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