DUNCANVILLE, Texas — The man, who police say walked into the Duncanville Fieldhouse Monday morning with a gun, was a convicted felon.
Police identified him as 42-year-old Brandon Keith Ned.
Police say Ned confronted an employee in the lobby, fired a shot, and then fired a second shot into a classroom full of kids. He was killed after police say he exchanged gunfire with them in the gym. It terrified the staff, children and parents.
"It’s detrimental and scary. I thought the worst when she called and said someone was shooting,” said Kena Summerville, parent.
The investigation now centers around why a felon who wasn't supposed to have a firearm had a handgun, and why he went into the fieldhouse full of children attending a summer camp.
“We were so scared when it happened,” said Trenia Summerville, student.
According to court documents, Ned pleaded guilty in 2011 to intoxication manslaughter. His blood alcohol level was .126. The affidavit states “[h]e knowingly operated a motor vehicle while intoxicated at a high rate of speed causing a collision…”
The passenger in his car was killed.
He spent two years in prison and was released.
Sources say he possibly knew someone in the field house.
It’s the second time there has been a shooting at the same field house in the last several years. The former police chief says they’ve tried to enhance security.
”We’ve had active shooter training that’s conducted by our police staff and surveillance cameras that we’ve installed and I’ve personally done an assessment of the facility several years ago,” Robert Brown, former Duncanville Police Chief.
City leaders have commended the police department for responding so quickly to the scene and stopping the threat but there are questions if more could have been done to prevent the gunmen from getting that far into the field house.