Children And Staffers Saved After Cops Shoot Gunman Who Fired Inside Summer Camp

Duncanville, Texas -- A gunman who showed up at a Texas summer camp was fatally shot by police.

Around 250 young children aged between 4 and 14 were attending the summer camp in Duncanville. None of the kids or staffers were injured.

The incident unfolded around 8:43 a.m. Monday morning after the suspect entered the Duncanville Fieldhouse through the main lobby doors. The suspect had a discussion with a staff member and then fired the first shot, NBC News reported.

The staffers, trained for active shooter situations, began moving the children into a safer area right after the first shot was heard.

An 18-year-old camp counselor, Naomi Rodgers, said she was about to play a game with 40 children when they heard the gunshot. Another staff member then rushed inside the room and shut the door.

“We have an active shooter right now!” Rodgers recalled the staff member saying.

"We had to move them all across the room because the building is glass and we had to find a safe space," Rodgers told NBC 5. "The shooter actually came to our door ... and he said if we didn't let him see who he wanted to see he was going to shoot the place up."

The suspect then fired his weapon at the glass door, Rodgers said. "The glass started to fall and I just started to pray then because that's all I could do," Rodgers went on to say.

The suspect then moved to the main gymnasium, where children were still present.

Officers arrived and found the gunman inside the gymnasium. They exchanged gunfire with the suspect, shot him and then provided medical aid.

The alleged gunman died at the hospital.

“Due to the clear-headed actions of staff and the quick response time of law enforcement, there were no additional injuries,” the Duncanville Police Department said in a news release.

Mayor Barry Gordon said the police officers were recently given active shooter training.

"Our officers did not hesitate," Gordon told WFAA. "They did what they were trained to do and saved lives."

Young campers recalled having to hide during the harrowing incident.

"We all went to the back when we heard a couple of shots," Jordan Jones told WFAA. "I was just praying that nothing would happen--that he wouldn't come upstairs where we were."

A little girl, Autumn, told the outlet, "We heard the shooting and then we got scared and everyone started crying. They just told us to stay quiet--there were showers in the men's restrooms so we hid in there."

The police department did not reveal the suspect’s identity. They are yet to determine a motive or whether the gunman was targeting someone in particular.

The incident took place just weeks after an 18-year-old shooter killed 19 children and two adults at an elementary school in Uvalde.

"We take security very seriously," Duncanville Police Assistant Chief Matthew Stogner said. "We obviously understand what took place in Uvalde just south of here, but I can only talk about how we responded here and we did an exceptional job."