Classes were canceled and counselors were scheduled to meet families a day after violence shattered a small Comal ISD campus.
BULVERDE, Texas — Families at Hill Country College Preparatory High School faced a day of fear, waiting and unanswered questions Monday after authorities said a 15-year-old student shot a teacher, then fatally shot himself, at the small Comal ISD campus north of San Antonio.
By the end of the day, officials had secured the school and said no other students or staff members were physically injured, but the disruption spread well beyond the crime scene. Students were bused to Bulverde Middle School for reunification, classes were canceled for Tuesday, and district leaders shifted from emergency response to crisis support as investigators worked to understand what caused the attack.
The school day changed course shortly after law enforcement was called to campus at about 8:34 a.m. Principal Julie Wiley sent families an early message saying officers were on site, the building was secure and the threat had been contained. As deputies, investigators and emergency crews moved through the campus, parents rushed toward the area and then to Bulverde Middle School, where students were transported for pickup. Comal County Sheriff Mark Reynolds said the response was swift and that there was no ongoing danger once officers gained control of the scene. Even so, the morning unfolded in stages familiar from school emergencies: lockdown, uncertainty, bus transfers, identity checks and long lines of parents waiting for children to emerge.
What officials could confirm remained stark but limited. Reynolds said the student died at the scene after authorities believe he shot himself. The teacher who was wounded was taken to a San Antonio hospital, though officials did not release the teacher’s condition Monday. Investigators also did not publicly identify either person. Reynolds said authorities were trying to determine whether the student had a prior connection to the teacher and where the firearm came from. Those unanswered questions became central to the case by late Monday, because the broad outline of what happened had been established, but the motive, planning and access to the weapon had not. Officials said law enforcement would continue processing the campus and following evidence where it led.
The campus itself helps explain why the shooting hit so hard in Comal County. Hill Country College Preparatory High School is a relatively new school, founded in 2020, and serves a smaller student body than many public high schools in the region. Comal ISD promotes it as a school of choice with a strong academic focus, including STEAM programs and college readiness work. Reynolds said about 250 students attend the campus. In a school that size, news can move fast and personal ties can feel close, which made the waiting at reunification especially tense. Parents were not watching events from a distance; many knew the school’s routines, staff members and families gathered around them.
By late afternoon, district messaging had turned toward recovery, even while the investigation remained open. Wiley told families there would be no school Tuesday, March 31, and said counselors would be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Mammen Family Public Library, 131 Bulverde Crossing. She also said personal belongings and vehicles left on campus would remain secured until further notice. That meant the aftermath would continue in practical ways as well as emotional ones: students were away from their classrooms, families were waiting for updates on property retrieval and school leaders were preparing for a return date they had not yet announced. Reynolds said deputies would remain present as needed while the inquiry moved forward.
Parents voiced the emotional cost in plain terms. Sarah Valdez said she called her freshman son after receiving the lockdown alert, despite school rules against phone use during class, because she needed to know he was safe. Jesse Lopez said he worried about how hard it would be for his daughter to return after the shooting. Their reactions underscored the challenge now facing the district. The emergency had ended, but the questions left behind were deeply personal: how students would process the violence, how teachers would return to the campus and how a school built around opportunity would carry the memory of a deadly morning into the rest of the semester.
By Tuesday morning, the school remained closed, counseling was scheduled in Bulverde and the teacher’s condition had still not been publicly updated. The next step was not a return to normal, but another day of investigation, support services and waiting for answers.
Author note: Last updated March 31, 2026.