Man Opens Fire in Houston School; 2 Officers Shot

A man armed with two semiautomatic guns and apparently distraught over his son’s grades opened fire at an elementary school Friday, wounding two officers before surrendering, authorities said.

It was the second school shooting in Texas in a week.

Terrified children and staff barricaded themselves in classrooms at Piney Point Elementary School, where the gunman’s son is a second-grader. Others fled the school grounds. No children were hurt.

The man, identified as Calvin Charles Bell, 45, was armed with the semiautomatics, four ammunition clips, a combat-style hunting knife and a can of Mace and was dressed in black when he walked into the administration office before classes began, said police spokesman John Leggio.

The man exchanged words with a secretary and then fired a shot into a wall. He left the office and then fired at a police officer who happened to be at the school for a drug education program.

The man proceeded down the hallway, firing shots as children and teachers scrambled, police said. He left the main building and went to a portable classroom. The second officer was shot when the gunman opened the classroom door and fired.

The gunman threw out his weapons and surrendered after police surrounded the building. He was being held in jail Friday; no charges had been filed.

One officer was in stable condition with gunshot wounds to the shoulder and thigh; the other officer, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, was shot in the back and listed in good condition after surgery, authorities said.

Last Friday, a 17-year-old student opened fire in a crowded hallway in an Amarillo high school after a pep rally, wounding six students.