Duncanville summer camp director credits police, counselors with saving lives during shooting

DUNCANVILLE, Texas - The director of the Duncanville Fieldhouse summer camp where a gunman opened fire Monday sat down only with FOX 4’s Shaun Rabb, heaping praise on police and camp counselors.

Coach William Pearson said both groups followed their training and likely saved lives.

Pearson has passion for the lives parents place in his hands, and is serious about their protection.

"It was tough, it was tough, and everything turned out just the way we wanted. God was with us," Pearson recalled.

Pearson, who for years has coordinated the summer camp at Duncanville Fieldhouse, was joined by State Senator Royce West to speak about the events of Monday morning, when Brandon Ned arrived with a gun.

RELATED: Gunman killed in Duncanville summer camp shootout identified

"The guy fired a shot. When he fired that shot up into the air, my staff went into lockdown mode," Pearson recalled.

Ned went to the fieldhouse looking for a particular person.

"My staff put her against the wall and they hid her. They hid her, so he went around. He went around calling out her name, and because he couldn’t find her and the doors were locked, it gave the police time to get in and corner him," Pearson said.

Pearson praised his staff for steeling themselves in the moment.

"Nineteen, 20-, 21-, 22-year-old college students that went into lockdown mode and that room that got shot up, there were college students that put themselves…they turned a cabinet over, put chairs behind the cabinet, stood over those kids," Pearson said. "They could have got shot, you know, but they did their job. When it was over, one of my kids said, ‘Coach, I was scared as hell. I was scared as hell.’ I said, ‘But you did your job, you protected my babies,’ cause that’s the room he was in."

Pearson can't say enough about the police response.

"[Police] said they were here in two minutes. It seemed like it was faster than that. I mean, they were here like that. Everything happened quickly and some of my kids didn’t realize what was going on because it was over so fast," Pearson explained. "When they get through with their investigation, everybody will see everything was perfect."

What's not perfect for Pearson are state laws that allow guns in places like the Duncanville Fieldhouse.

In Texas, lawful handgun owners are permitted to carry in city facilities, like libraries and rec centers.

That by itself would not have stopped someone like Ned, who is a convicted felon, but he wants people to demand change.

"It’s frustrating because you're in the building with a cigarette, you can't do that, but you can come in with a gun? That’s frustrating because it doesn't make sense," he said. "Politicians, they are like turtles on a fence post, they didn't get there by themselves. We put them there and we can take them down."

RELATED: Duncanville Fieldhouse shooting disrupts youth summer camp

"I mean, you know, I say amen to all of the above," State Senator Royce West said.

West said what happened in Duncanville has helped galvanize more support for what needs to be done in the state.

"We need to examine that, whether people should be able to walk into recreation centers, where there are children’s programs going on, with a weapon," he said.

"We cannot let this keep happening and then we do nothing. I have a responsibility to my babies. I love them. They trust me. And right now, America has a responsibility to those babies, as well if we let those babies that died in Uvalde and other places lay in the ground and not do something so it doesn’t happen again. Then we're all wrong," Pearson said.

Powerful emotion from Pearson, who really had a lot to say about the police and how "professional and compassionate" they were to parents and children in a real crisis moment.

While this had a good ending for campers, counselors, and cops, camp is taking place at a different location at least for the rest of this week.