3 Dead, 1 Child Hurt in Shooting Near Schools in Temple, Texas: Reports

At least three people were shot and killed, including the suspected gunman, near Lamar Middle School in Temple, Texas, on the morning of Dec. 20, according to reports.

The area around the school was closed off due to a police standoff, KXXV reported. The standoff lasted several hours.

A child was also shot in the incident and was taken to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries, officials said. The condition of the child is not known.

According to KWTX, SWAT negotiators were talking to the suspect when they heard gunshots. That’s when they entered the home, finding two victims and the suspect dead.

Lamar Middle School and Jefferson Elementary School were placed on lockdown. School officials told KXXV that the campuses are safe, and there are officers surrounding the area.

Officials have not released the names of the suspect or the victims.

Temple, a city in Bell County, has a population of 73,000. It’s located in Central Texas.

Violent Crime Down?

The FBI said that both violent crime and property crime decreased in 2017 compared to 2016. Overall violent crime decreased 0.2 percent from 2016 to last year, while property crime decreased 3 percent during that time, the agency said in September, releasing data from the previous year.

“There were more than 1.2 million violent crimes reported to UCR nationwide in 2017. There was a 0.7 percent decrease in murders and a 4 percent decrease in robberies from 2016 to 2017. Aggravated assaults increased 1 percent in 2017. The FBI began collecting data solely on an updated rape definition last year, and 135,755 rapes were reported to law enforcement in 2017,” the FBI said in its report.

“The report also showed there were more than 7.7 million property crimes last year. Burglaries decreased 7.6 percent and larceny-thefts decreased 2.2 percent. Motor vehicle thefts increased 0.8 percent from 2016 to 2017.”