Police: NCTC-Corinth lockdown suspect was not targeting the campus
Denton and Corinth police officers block an entrance Sept. 10 to the North Central Texas College - Corinth campus while it was on lockdown because officers believed the suspect was armed at the time of the incident. Hannah Breland
The Corinth campus of North Central Texas College was placed on lockdown about 1 p.m. Friday because there was an armed person in the area. The lockdown was ordered as a precaution and not because the man was targeting people at the college.
All this occurred after a moment of silence commemorating 9/11.
“We were upstairs and just finishing up, cleaning up and then the Lion Alert came on,” NCTC Student Life Specialist Brisa Chavez said. We then started to barricade the door… and we were just waiting.”
The suspect, a man whose identity has not been released yet, may have been involved in a drive-by shooting and a car accident around southbound Interstate 35E, close to the campus.
Following the accident, the suspect fled from police and started toward the NCTC Corinth campus, the authorities say. Information was received indicating that the suspect was possibly on NCTC Corinth grounds.
“We were actually notified by Denton County dispatch,” NCTC Police Chief James Fitch said. “They immediately made us aware of the situation and that the suspect was headed this way.”
The campus was then placed on lock down for around two hours. The suspect was not deemed an active shooter.
The NCTC police, with the help of Corinth Police Department, Hickory Creek Police Department and Denton Police Department, conducted a room-by-room search for the suspect. The suspect was never found on campus.
The suspect was not believed to have any connection to the student body of NCTC Corinth, nor were they pursuing a specific person in the school, police said.
“It completely by chance happened by our campus.” Fitch said. “The suspect, from my understanding and to my knowledge, was never a student.”
The suspect was eventually arrested and taken into custody around the 5600 block of southbound I-35E. An investigation is being conducted.
“We’re very glad to be at this juncture as an institution, that everyone’s safe and everyone is going home today and we’re very proud of the efforts of our community,” NCTC President Dr. G. Brent Wallace said.
Featured Image: Denton and Corinth police officers block an entrance Sept. 10 to the North Central Texas College – Corinth campus while it was on lockdown because officers believed the suspect was armed at the time of the incident. Hannah Breland
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