Pearland ISD “Band Dads” Quickly Subdued Active Shooter during Music Contest at a Pasadena ISD School

A group of four tactically-trained “band dads” from Pearland ISD jumped into action Saturday and apprehended an active shooter during the Texas Color Guard Circuit Drumline Competition at Pasadena (ISD) Memorial High School, Houston media reported.

Pasadena ISD officials said a man in his 80s with a handgun entered a back entrance of the school between 5 and 6 p.m. and fired two shots. One hit a door and the other struck an adult male in the shoulder.

In less than a minute, reports reflect, a group of four fathers of Pearland ISD High School band students — from a larger group known as the Pearland Band Dads because they help with band-related activities — had subdued the assailant. The four fathers all have military and/or law enforcement backgrounds.

The injured man was identified by Angleton ISD as a technical percussion consultant for their high school band. He was last reported to be in stable condition after being taken to a Houston area hospital, and is expected to recover, authorities reported.

The Pasadena Police Department identified the suspect as 83-year-old Dennis Erwin Brandl, Jr.

Brandl reportedly told officers he thought he was being chased by someone and feared he and his wife were going to be killed. He left his home in Spring and somehow ended up in Pasadena, where he then went into the school. Authorities said the injured man and Brandl did not know each other.

Brandl appeared before a judge Monday morning and was being held on a $80,000 bond on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.