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Four dads attending a high school band competition for their children in Pasadena, Texas, took down an active shooter last weekend who entered the school and ultimately injured one man.
The fathers, who compose a group of parents that aids Pearland High School with band activities, were moving equipment when they noticed commotion and heard people shouting “active shooter,” prompting them to leap into action and try to subdue the apparent assailant.
All of the dads have prior military or police experience: Abram Trevino is a thirteen-year Air Force veteran, Adam Curow is a fourteen-year Army veteran, Efrain Castillo is a four-year Marine veteran, and Joe Sanchez is a longtime police sergeant for Houston, Texas.
“I grabbed his arms while Adam took the gun out, and once the gun was removed from his hand, we had no handcuffs, so I took off my belt, made handcuffs, got his right arm secured, got his left arm secured,” Sanchez described in an interview with local news about the situation.
“I grabbed his wrist and was tackling to get the handgun free. I finally got it free,” Curow likewise remarked to local news. “Then, I went ahead and cleared the pistol and kept it in my hand. I put the pistol behind my back. That way it was secured, and no one has to grab it or utilize it.”
Pasadena Police Department officials identified the suspect as eighty-three-year-old Dennis Brandl Jr. The man told police he thought that he was being pursued by someone who was trying to kill him and his wife. One school staffer was shot in the shoulder but is expected to recover.
Pearland Independent School District Superintendent Larry Berger commended each of the fathers for their decisive action and willingness to use their experience to keep others safe.
“It was an active shooter event at an event our kids were at, but it was the fact that our parents stepped in a moment of crisis and were heroes, selflessly acting to take the guy down,” he said.
