A call went out at 3:30 p.m. Friday that there was a man with a gun attempting to get into Permian High School.
An Odessa Police Department release detailed that this caused a large police presence at the school by various law enforcement agencies. A juvenile male was detained and found to be in possession of a firearm, and there are no reported injuries or damage at this time, the release said.
According to a message sent to parents, law enforcement was releasing students room by room. It asked parents to be patient as “your student’s safety is our top priority.”
Amber Toney was waiting for one of her children outside Permian. Toney said her daughter messaged her and said she was terrified because there was someone in the school with a gun. She has two children at PHS.
Toney headed to Permian and by that time, she was also freaking out.
“After the shooting at the elementary school in Uvalde, I was freaking out. I’m still holding back tears,” Toney said.
Ivetell Salinas said her niece called her and told her there was a large police presence at Permian. Her granddaughter goes to PHS.
Salinas said she was in a panic and she was told what was going on.
“I’m nervous because … something (happened) every day in schools. … ,” Salinas said.
She said she thinks the schools need metal detectors and that the mesh and clear backpacks at secondary schools don’t work.
Salinas added that student records need to be shared, such as if a student had a problem at middle school.
On Thursday, a student at Odessa High School was stabbed during a fight.
