Pasadena, Texas: High School Band Competition Shooting Injures 1

An elderly man with no connection to the band competition at Pasadena Memorial High School entered through a back door and opened fire.
Published: February 3, 2025

PASADENA, Texas — A young man was injured in a shooting Saturday after an elderly man opened fire during a band competition at a Houston-area high school.

Pasadena Police say a man in his 80s who was armed with a small caliber pistol entered Pasadena Memorial High School through a back door around 6 p.m., ABC reports. The Texas Color Guard Circuit drumline competition, which involved numerous schools, was underway. The suspect reportedly hid behind a pillar for two minutes before opening fire. A man in his 20s, who was a percussion technical consultant with Angleton High School’s drumline, was hit in the shoulder and air lifted to a hospital. He is currently in stable condition.

Within a minute of the shooting, a parent who is an off-duty Houston police officer tackled the shooter and several others confiscated the suspect’s weapon and detained him until security personnel took over. No one else was injured and the competition with canceled.

“We are grateful for the brave citizens and the officers who were on the scene for security at the game and courageously stepped up to detain the shooter and prevent any further violence,” Pasadena Police wrote in a statement.

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The suspect has been identified as 83-year-old Dennis Erqin Brandl Jr. He has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Pasadena Police say the suspect does not appear to have any connection to the school. The Pasadena Independent School District (PISD) also said Brandl had no connection to anyone at the competition.

According to Click2Houston, Brandl told police he was being chased and that he feared for he and his wife’s lives. He left his home in Spring and went to the high school where he carried out the shooting.

There will be an increased police presence this week at all PISD schools and crisis counselors will be made available to students and staff.

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