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Dexter Kelsey: Houston prep school shooter's mother apologizes for 'my good child'

After the shooting, principal Eric Espinoza was rushed to the Medical Center in downtown Houston to undergo surgery

HOUSTON, TEXAS: A suspect believed to be involved in a Houston school shooting on Friday, October 1, has been named by local reports. Dexter Kelsey allegedly entered the campus of the YES Prep Southwest Secondary while carrying a rifle and shot the principal in the back. Reports said he is now in police custody after the Houston police arrived at the scene at around 11:45 am local time.

The 25-year-old’s alleged attack only injured the school’s principal, Eric Espinoza, after he made his way through shooting the institution's locked glass door. After the shooting, Espinoza was rushed to the Medical Center in downtown Houston to undergo surgery. Though his condition was grave, he is likely to survive. It has been said that the cops did not have to struggle much as Kelsey, a former student of the school, surrendered. Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said that he was happy to know that no child was hurt during the incident as it “could have been a lot worse,” before adding: “I don’t think any kid or anybody should witness this but it’s the world we live in.”

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A 7th-grade student whose identity has not been revealed said, “When I was coming out, I saw blood and glass shattering everywhere. My teachers told me to stay back in the classroom where nobody can see you and officers came, saying ‘Put your hands up. Go outside.’”

The Houston Police Department released a statement that read, “There is one suspect in custody. Officers are searching the school for any other possible suspects at this time. Scene is still active.” YES Prep Southwest Secondary school also issued a statement that said, “ATTENTION FAMILIES: Police are on campus with a suspect in custody who opened fire inside the school. No students have been injured. Students have been transported to W. Fuqua and Hiram Clarke, where they can be picked up. Please do not drive to the school; roads are blocked by Houston Police Department. We are gathering information and will pass along as soon as we can.”

In a press release, the school added: “We cannot imagine the terror you must have felt as the events unfolded. [Friday's] shocking incident is one that no student, parent or educator should ever have to go through or cope with on their own. We have counselors standing by to help anyone needing support over the weekend, next week, and through the school year.”

Meanwhile, the suspect’s mother -- Doris Kelsey -- has refused to believe that her son was allegedly involved in the shooting. She said, “Dexter, he’s on the quiet side. And even in school, he didn’t in school, he didn’t get in trouble in school or nothing. Even in school. He was the quiet kid. I called him my good child.”

However, Doris later apologized for the incident by saying, “I apologize to the school community because I didn’t know Dexter was in this state of mind that he was in. I didn’t know he had the issues that he was going through and I apologize to everybody and I hope they accept my apology.”

His father, Tony, added: “I can’t see all these years, you got that kind of hatred still in your heart and then all of a sudden, you just explode. I can’t believe that.” 

Twitter was also filled with people’s responses to the incident. A user tweeted, “He only shot one staff member and surrendered to authorities? I wonder if this was a targeted attack against a staff member who worked there when he attended.” The second one wrote, “This is terrible. When will we stop seeing this? I hope the teacher who was shot is soon upgraded from critical and makes a full recovery.”

“Wait, I'm confused, like everyone in Texass has a gun and the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is for a good guy to shoot them. The school needs to be sued for not being armed properly. (All said with a heavy dose of sarcasm and disdain),” the third user added.