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Gun scare grips community

Armed man found in gym walls

MANHUNT – 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. Paradise resident Elvin Fox, 59, was later found in the walls of the Paradise High School gym. Messenger Photo by Austin Jackson

After a six-hour search, authorities found a man and a rifle inside the walls of the Paradise High School gym late Wednesday night.

Elvin Fox

Elvin Fox, 59, of Paradise was reportedly seen that afternoon carrying a rifle near the school, and at 10 p.m. he was found trapped in the walls near the locker room, according to Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin.

Fox was first spotted around 4 p.m. walking across the football field while numerous student athletes, band members and school staff were on campus, resulting in a lockdown of PISD facilities.

Akin said it was later determined Fox went inside the gym shortly after he was seen and crawled into the ceiling.

“Not after 30 minutes, he was probably in the ceiling,” Akin said. “He slipped between the walls.”

Akin said Fox is being held under a mental health detention in the behavioral unit. The sheriff’s office Friday was preparing to file two felony charges: felon in possession of a firearm and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for entering a school with a firearm.

Paradise Volunteer Fire Department began working shortly after 10 p.m. with a K-12 power saw to extract Fox from within the concrete walls. He was in police custody around 10:20 p.m.

“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.”

Akin said officers were tipped off to Fox’s location when they spotted debris in the coaches’ office,

“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 between the walls. Akin said students and staff were inside the school, but he was not sure if students were inside the gym. All students and most staff were cleared from the school buildings about four hours into the lockdown.

Paradise ISD Superintendent Paul Uttley said he had mixed feelings after the suspect was placed in custody.

“Honestly, my reaction was a 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.

“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.”

According to a sheriff’s office press release, deputies arrived five minutes after the 911 call was received, but there were no signs of Fox. Before finding him, Akin was worried about Fox’s well-being. His family said he was off his medication prior to being seen on campus with the gun.

Around 40 to 50 officers from the Wise County Sheriff’s Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety and several area law enforcement agencies assisted in the search from the ground and in the air. They were assisted by 20 to 30 firefighters and personnel from the Paradise Volunteer Fire Department, Wise County EMS, and the Wise County Fire Marshal’s Office, all of whom established a perimeter and set up a command center near the school grounds.

The press release stated that Fox lives just blocks from the high school campus, and PISD security cameras captured images of him walking outside the school building with a rifle.

“We really give our appreciation to the person that took the time to call,” Akin said. “I also want to give a big thanks to the Paradise Fire Department for cutting the guy out of the wall.”

Akin said a few first responders suffered heat exhaustion throughout the day, and having the support of numerous departments was crucial as the search continued in 100-degree temperatures.

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 our 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.”

Following the arrest, school activities continued Thursday.

Messenger reporter Brian Knox contributed to this report.

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