AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin Police Department (APD) said multiple arrests have been made in connection to a shooting that happened near Akins High School in South Austin on Tuesday. The shooting sent one student to the hospital with serious injuries.
KVUE spoke to Heboleta Casas, one Akins parent, who said this concerns her. She said there should be more security at the campus, given its growing student body.
Casas said this situation was not only stressful for her, but for her daughter as well.
“When you don’t know where the problem is taking place, they get worried and stressed,” said Casa. “And my daughter has told me that they will be in class, anxious and tense and when they hear that, it’s just double the worry for them.”
According to the APD, officers responded to reports of a shooting near a bus stop at around 2 p.m. Tuesday. Officers arriving on the scene found a victim with a gunshot wound, APD said.
Austin ISD officials said the campus was placed on a hold for about an hour and a half following the shooting. No one was allowed to leave or enter the building, and students and staff had to stay in their classrooms.
Josh Pearson, a parent who lives nearby, said he saw a large police presence while picking up his child from daycare. He said this makes him worry about the safety of the school.
“Until you have kids, you don’t … I don’t think you really understand or think about the massive weight of how these schools affect and shape our kids,” Pearson said. “Hearing that stuff happen across the street from where we live, you know, makes us curious about, do we want to put him in that school or move him to a different school further away?”