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Authorities find suspect inside Paradise High School gym after six hour search


After a six-hour search, authorities found a Paradise man, who was reportedly seen earlier in the afternoon carrying a rifle near the Paradise High School football field, in the walls of the high school gym late Wednesday night.

Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin said they found the man, Elvin Fox, 59, and a rifle, trapped in the walls near the locker room at 10 p.m.

Elvin Fox, 59, of Paradise.

“He slipped between the walls,” Akin said. “He’s in custody.”

At 10:08 p.m., the Paradise Volunteer Fire Department began working to extract Fox with a K-12 power saw. Akin believes Fox was in the ceiling prior to slipping in between the walls, and he remained in the gym for the entirety of the lockdown.

By 10:20 p.m., the firefighters used the saw to free Fox from the concrete wall and officers placed him in custody.

“Everybody’s fine, we all have a little too much dust in our lungs. But other than that everybody’s good,” Akin said. “We’re just glad that it ended. It’s one of the those things that never should have happened, but thankfully everybody was good. We give credit to the woman who took time to call us.”

Upon further examination of the gym, Akin said officers noticed debris in the coaches office  prompting the search and later arrest of Fox.

“The officers went back inside to look one more time and saw some debris in the coaches office and noticed a ceiling tile had been moved,” Akin said.

After searching the crawl space, officers located Fox in between the walls of a locker room in the gym.

Akin said Thursday morning that Fox is being held under a mental health detention and they are preparing to file two felony charges: felon in possession of a firearm and aggravated assaulted with a deadly weapon (for entering a school with a firearm).

Just before 4 p.m., witnesses reported seeing Fox, of Paradise, walking across the football field with what appeared to be a rifle or a long gun. 

No shots were fired, and after around 4 hours on lockdown, all students and staff were cleared from the school buildings, Akin said.

According to a Thursday WCSO press release, deputies were on scene within five minutes of the call, but were unable to locate Fox.

Akin said Fox went inside the gym shortly after he was seen and stayed there as the search continued.

“Not after 30 minutes, he was probably in the ceiling,” Akin said. “We really give our appreciation of the person that took the time to call. I want to give our appreciation to the caller. Want to give a big thanks to the Paradise Fire Department for cutting the guy out of the wall.”

The press release said PISD security cameras captured Fox walking around the campus with a rifle. The WCSO release added that Fox lives just a few blocks away from the PISD campus.

Paradise ISD security camera footage shows Elvin Fox, 59, of Paradise walking around the school campus with what appears to be a rifle.
Photo courtesy of the Wise County Sheriff’s Office.

Paradise ISD superintendent Paul Uttley said he had mixed feelings after the suspect was placed in custody. Akin said students were inside the school during the lockdown, but was not sure if students were inside the gym.

“Honestly, my reaction was sense of relief then a sickness,” Uttley said. “I was sick to my stomach. I cannot tell you the sense when you find out the perp was in our building. It makes you sick to your stomach. 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.”

Before locating him, Akin said he was worried about the well being of Fox, whose family said he was off his medication prior to being seen with a gun on school property. After speaking with witnesses prior to the arrest, Akin believed Fox was armed.

Around 40 to 50 officers, deputies, troopers and alert dogs from the Wise County Sheriff’s Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, Bridgeport, Boyd and Decatur assisted in the search from the ground and in the air.

The law enforcement agencies were assisted by 20 to 30 firefighters and personnel from Paradise Volunteer Fire Department, Wise County EMS, and the Wise County Fire Marshal who helped set the perimeter and command center near the school grounds. 

Following the arrest, Uttley said school activities would continue Thursday.

A DPS helicopter circles over the Paradise ISD campus Wednesday afternoon as authorities search for a man reportedly seen walking on school property with a rifle.
Messenger photo by Austin Jackson.

Uttley said the response from law enforcement and other first responders was swift and professional.

“This thing started at 4 p.m. I’m just so thankful to live in an area where our first responders are fantastic,” Uttley said. “In this day and age, when some folks beat up on first responders, well, when you need them they are there.”

“The professionalism of the police, the way they’ve handled it, the surrounding area officers has been nothing short of impressive,” Uttley added. “It makes me feel very good about or first responders. I think our community should feel good and confident as well.”

It was a scary day for Uttley and the PISD staff and students.

“People think it’s still summer, but we had students in our buildings. We had volleyball practice. Football practice,” Uttley said. “Our staff sprung into action. We did what educators do. We took care of our kids.”

Akin said a few first responders suffered heat exhaustion throughout the day. Akin said having the amount of support from surrounding departments was crucial as the search continued as temperatures  reached 100 degrees.

Messenger reporter Brian Knox contributed to this report.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story spelled the first name of the individual placed in custody incorrectly. The name is Elvin Fox, the initial report misspelled the name as Eldon Fox.

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