Suspect in custody after 3 Clint ISD schools on lockdown Friday morning

It was a chaotic scene in the early morning for Mountain View High students as reports of a man with a weapon began spreading throughout campus.

The high school, along with Montana Vista Elementary School and East Montana Middle School, immediately went into a lockdown about 9:30 a.m. Friday, April 26, after district officials received information that a photo of a person with a weapon had been posted on social media, Clint Independent School District and El Paso County Sheriff's Office officials said.

A suspect was later taken into custody, but no further information has been released.

"I was walking in the hallway when I heard the news. I ran and ran to my Spanish class and was knocking and knocking on the door but they didn't let me in," said Anitzia Torrero, a student at Mountain View High School. "So I ran to the bathroom. I thought it was a false alarm. My friends told the teacher it was me, but they didn't answer the door."

She hid in the restroom by herself for about 50 minutes until law enforcement officers arrived.

"I was very scared and I was crying," she said. "I didn't know what to do. In 50 minutes, the police came and told me to come out with my hands up. They took me outside. I saw the helicopter and police everywhere. They took me to the principal's office where there were other students."

More: Law enforcement warn against making false threats to schools, 2 Montwood students arrested

The students were then taken to the cafeteria and eventually boarded buses to reunite with their parents.

Julian Solorzano, a Mountain View High School student, began his day in gym class when the news broke of sheriff's deputies searching for a man with a weapon. He and his classmates then hid in a locker room.

"I was in first period, so we were in the locker room and we just hid in a little storage room," Solorzano said. "The teachers just told us to stay quiet and hide in a corner. We were fine. It was like there was nothing happening. Everyone was calm. I was texting with my parents and checking social media for news on what was happening. It was kind of scary to be honest. We didn't know what was going on."

Julian Solorzano's father, Luis Solorzano, heard about the incident from his wife and went to the high school to pick up his sons.

"I was at home working when my wife received a phone call from the school saying the school was in a lockdown," Luis Solorzano said. "It was about two or three hours and I was just watching the news for information. We heard that there was someone with a gun at the school. We found out it was apparently kids with a toy gun, but we still don't know for sure what was happening."

Luis Solorzano kept in touch with his sons throughout the morning.

More: School threats are no joke: El Paso law enforcement officials warn of serious consequences

"I was happy because I was in contact with my sons," Luis Solorzano said. "They kept telling me they were okay and hiding in a locker room where nobody could come in."

El Paso County Sheriff's Office deputies, El Paso County Constables, Texas Department of Public Safety state troopers and other law enforcement officers responded to the scene. Emergency medical crews also responded to the school to aid any students. No injuries were reported.

After a suspect was taken into custody, district and sheriff officials placed students in a school bus to be reunited with their parents. More than 60 parents were waiting for their children at the intersection of Greg and Mark Jason drives.

The students arrived in large groups as parents surrounded the buses looking for their children.

Mountain View High School students were the first to be taken to the reunification area. As of noon Friday, East Montana Middle School and Montana Vista Elementary remained in shelter-in-place status.

Red Sands Elementary School also was put in a shelter-in-place as a safety precaution. Since there was no threat in that area, the students are being released at their regular early release schedule, district officials said.

Aaron Martinez may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT.

María Cortés González may be reached at 915-546-6150; mcortes@elpasotimes.com, @EPTMaria on Twitter; eptmariacg on TikTok.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Lockdown lifted for El Paso schools after threat in Montana Vista area