4 band dads hailed 'heroes' after stopping gunman in Texas high school shooting
Four fathers are being praised as heroes after apprehending an active shooter at an East Texas high school band competition over the weekend.
The shooting occurred shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday at the Pasadena Memorial High School in Harris County, leaving one man in his mid-twenties shot and injured, according to the Pasadena Police Department.
Dennis Erwin Brandl Jr., 83, allegedly used a "small caliber weapon" and entered the school, where students and parents from several schools had traveled for the competition. Someone then intervened and "tackled" Brandl, while a group of fathers disarmed Brandi and held him down until law enforcement arrived, the department confirmed in a news release.
In an update posted Sunday, Pasadena Police said the male victim was in stable condition at a hospital and expected to make a full recovery. Police said the victim did not know Brandl or had any contact with him prior to the shooting.
The four dads were helping move equipment at the band competition when the shooting broke out, according to local station KHOU 11.
Brandl is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in shooting.
He reportedly told officers "he was being chased by someone and feared he and his wife were going to be killed," the Pasadena Police Department wrote on Sunday. Police said he left his home in Spring, Texas and ended up around 35 miles south in Pasadena, where he then went into Pasadena Memorial High School.
As of Sunday evening, Brandl was awaiting transfer to the Harris County Jail. No bond was set.
Paste BN is working to identify and contact an attorney for Brandl.
Who are the four fathers?
The four fathers who disarmed Brandl each had prior background in either policing or the military, KHOU 11 reported.
The group consists of 13-year Air Force veteran Abram Trevino, 14-year Army veteran Adam Curow, 4-year Marine Corps veteran Efrain "Polo" Castillo and long-time Houston police sergeant Joe Sanchez.
"People were coming out screaming, saying, 'Active shooter, active shooter,' so me and Polo were with the same prop, dropped everything and ran through the lobby door," Sanchez told KHOU.
Sanchez said Brandl had already been intercepted when he and the three others approached.
"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 added.
How did they disarm the suspect?
With 14 years of experience in the Army, Curow said he managed to grab Brandl's wrist while "tackling to get the handgun free."
"I finally got it free," Curow told KHOU. "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."
Curow told the station that Brandl seemed afraid and under the impression someone was attempting to harm him.
"When the suspect was on the ground, he kept saying that, 'Someone’s trying to shoot me, someone’s trying to shoot me,' and we would look around or scan the area to see if maybe there was an additional or potential second person that may be the person he’s referencing, but there was nobody. It was all spectators, students and parents," Curow said.
How has the community responded?
Members of the community have applauded the fathers who have been deemed the "Pearland Dads," as their children are students at Pearland High School.
Pearland ISD Superintendent Larry Berger commended the fathers' bravery on social media, writing, "Could not be more Pearland proud — they will tell you they are just (Pearland High School) dads — but their selfless response makes them heroes to all of us."
Mark Herman, the Harris County Constable for the fourth precinct, applauded the bravery and action taken by the "Pearland Dads."
"The four men – Abram Trevino, Adam Curow, Efrain ‘Polo’ Castillo and Joe Sanchez – quickly jumped into action to subdue the suspect at a band competition Saturday," Herman wrote. "Thank you again for the swift actions of the Pearland Dads!"