Police Pursue Man After Shots Fired Reports Near Ethicon

Howard College has received confirmation that San Angelo law enforcement is in pursuit of an alleged shooter in the vicinity of the West Texas Training Center (WTTC) campus and the St. John’s  campus. As a precautionary measure, to maintain the safety of our staff, faculty, and students, the WTTC, the academic building, and building 2 are now placed on lock down. No individuals will be allowed to exit or enter the building until further notice.

All classes that were currently in session in any of these buildings will continue. Students or faculty should not attempt to come to campus to attend a class that is beginning on or after 1:30 pm today, Sept. 23, 2014 until further notice.

Students, faculty, and staff located at the St. John’s campus are encouraged to remain where they are until further notice. The administration of the St. John’s Hospital is handling lock down proceedings at that location.

Again, this is only a precautionary measure. No one at any Howard College site has been injured at this time and there is no reason to believe people inside the buildings are in current danger. Please continue to check back for updates as they will be posted as information is made available.

Readers have advised that Holiman Elementary school is also on lockdown. 

Update 1:45 p.m.

Public Information Officer Tracy Gonzalez issued the following statement with regards to the incident:

At approximately 12:05 p.m., San Angelo public safety communications received a 911 call regarding an armed suspect who was in a field located west of the Ethicon facility. Police arrived on scene and learned that a few of the Ethicon employees had been in that field west of the facility when they came upon a male subject who opened fire in their direction. It is unknown at this time how many rounds the shooter actually fired, but nobody was injured.

Police currently have K9 units on the ground. They established a perimeter quickly, they are searching the area surrounding Ethicon and the nearby area. And also, US Customs is currently providing air assistance for us.

The witnesses described the man as a white male with blondish-type hair. Right now I do not have any information about the type of weapon that was utilized in the incident, nor do I have any further information about the suspect as far as a potential identity or anything right now. 

We are asking the nearby residents and businesses to please shelter in place and to be on alert, and to please call 911 if you see any suspicious activity. If you see a suspect or subject matching that person's description, armed at all, please call 911 and alert the police. 

I would also ask the community not to come by to be spectators. In situations like this, please allow police to do their work. It's just better for you all to stay back and be safe. 

Gonzalez said further updates will be sent out to the community via Nixle alert, and that there were initial discrepencies in the subject's description as far as the color of the shirt. 

"In a stressful situation it's really hard to for people who are experiencing a traumatic event to get a perfect clothing description, so we're just doing our best to get all of the details," she said.

Several K9 units are on the ground, Gonzalez said, and as of yet, there has not been a confirmed estimate of the suspect's age. 

Update 2:33 p.m.

Police have confirmed that the suspect is approximately 30 years old and that the weapon fired was a handgun. Neither the weapon nor the suspect have been found.

Below is a briefing provided by Police Chief Tim Vasquez. The iPhone video cuts off near the end due to a phone call from an annoying editor wanting more information, however Vasquez concludes by saying that the Criminal Investigations Division is on scene and they will remain in the area for the next couple of hours.[[{"fid":"8090","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default"},"type":"media","attributes":{}}]]