A man accused of walking around a school campus with a rifle was found trapped in between walls in a school building Wednesday night, the Wise County sheriff said Thursday.
Firefighters with the Paradise Volunteer Fire Department had to use power-tools to extricate 59-year-old Elvin Fox, who was wedged between two concrete walls in the gym at Paradise High School. Paradise is about 40 miles northwest of Fort Worth.
Fox, of Paradise, was taken into custody and taken to a local Wise County hospital on a mental health detention order.
He faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and felon in possession of a firearm, said Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin in a telephone interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
No shots were fired, and no injuries were reported in the Wednesday incident.
Deputies with the Wise County Sheriff’s Office were called to the scene about 4 p.m. Wednesday when a witness reported seeing a man with a rifle on the Paradise High School campus.
Authorities searched for the gunman for several hours, but they couldn’t find him.
The school was placed on lock-down as authorities continued to search for the suspect. School has not started at Paradise High School, but band members, student-athletes and teachers were on campus.
A school video camera showed a man carrying a rifle on campus.
The search for the suspect, who was later identified as Fox, was conducted by officers on foot, officers in patrol units, a drone and a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter.
Authorities later got a break when debris from a ceiling tile was found in an office.
Officers began searching a crawl space in the ceiling and at about 10 p.m. Wednesday found Fox and the rifle wedged between the walls.
Fox lives near the school. Authorities were investigating why he brought the gun on campus.
Paradise ISD superintendent Paul Uttley told the Wise County Messenger that “my reaction was sense of relief then a sickness,” after he was told where the suspect was found.
“I was sick to my stomach. I cannot tell you the sense when you find out the perp was in our building. ... We acted on the information we had at the time. He was outside. Thankfully they did not give up until they apprehended him. We can all go to bed knowing there is no longer a threat to our school and our community.”
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