BULVERDE, Texas (AP) — A 15-year-old student who shot and injured a teacher at a Texas high school and then fatally shot himself appeared to have been struggling academically before coming to the campus armed with a gun he brought from home, authorities said Tuesday.
The shooting Monday at Hill Country College Preparatory High School in Bulverde is still being investigated, the Comal County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. Detectives seized several electronic devices from the student's home, and they are being examined to learn more about the student’s actions and a possible motive, the sheriff's office said.
No other injuries were reported at the school in the small but growing city near San Antonio. The sheriff's office said the teacher remains hospitalized. They did not provide any information on her condition or injuries.
The student used a .357 revolver in the shooting, the sheriff's office said.
Authorities said the student was failing several classes. The high school, which is part of the Comal Independent School District, focuses on academics and skills to prepare students for college, according to the district’s website.
The small campus of roughly 250 students was placed on lockdown shortly after 8:30 a.m., according to the school. Students were bused to a nearby middle school, where parents stood in long lines, some praying, as they waited to be reunited.
The school canceled classes for Tuesday but counselors were made available for students and families.
This image taken from video provided by KSAT shows first responders outside after a student shot a teacher at Hill Country College Preparatory High School, Monday, March 30, 2026, in Bulverde, Texas. (KSAT via AP)
This image taken from video provided by KSAT shows parents waiting in line outside Bulverde Middle School to be reunited with their children after a teacher was shot by a student at Hill Country College Preparatory High School, Monday, March 30, 2026, in Bulverde, Texas. (KSAT via AP)
This image taken from video provided by KSAT shows first responders outside after a student shot a teacher at Hill Country College Preparatory High School, Monday, March 30, 2026, in Bulverde, Texas. (KSAT via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors probing public corruption in New York have charged the leaders of a homeless shelter nonprofit with stealing $1.3 million from the taxpayer-backed organization and steering contracts worth millions more to favored vendors in exchange for bribes and kickbacks, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday.
The charges come as investigators also probe whether City Council Member Farah Louis and her sister Debbie Louis, an aide to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, accepted bribes related to the appropriation of city funds to the nonprofit, according to a search warrant viewed by The Associated Press.
Four people were arrested in the probe Tuesday. The sisters were not among those taken into custody.
The indictment describes multiple layers of corruption within BHRAGS Home Care Corp., a nonprofit that oversees several homeless shelters across the city, including some emergency facilities that opened in response to an influx of migrants.
Prosecutors said the nonprofit's executive director, Roberto Samedy, 50, and its former board chairman, Jean Ronald Tirelus, 50, embezzled from the organization — at one point pocketing $800,000 earmarked for “economic growth and affordable housing” in distressed Brooklyn neighborhoods.
The pair also received more than $200,000 in kickbacks in exchange for steering contracts worth millions of dollars to businesses controlled by Edouardo St. Fort and Miguel Jorge, the indictment said.
Tirelus’ lawyer, Todd Spodek, said he "categorically disputes the charges and looks forward to clearing his name at trial.”
Tirelus and Samedy were charged with wire fraud, embezzlement, and bribery-related offenses and face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. St. Fort and Jorge were charged with federal program bribery and related charges, and face up to 10 years each.
Inquiries to attorneys for Samedy and St. Fort were not immediately returned.
St. Fort, who retired as a New York City police sergeant in 2023, runs Fort NYC Security, records show. Since 2023, the city has agreed to pay more than $7 million to Fort NYC Security to provide security services at homeless shelters, often as a subcontractor for BHRAGS.
The indictment did not outline any wrongdoing by others. All four of the men arrested Tuesday were mentioned in a search warrant, signed March 19, seeking communications between BHRAGS, the Louis sisters and Edu Hermelyn,
Edu Hermelyn is the husband of state Assembly member Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, who chairs the Brooklyn Democratic Party.
Messages left for Farah Louis, Debbie Louis and Edu Hermelyn were not returned.
A spokesperson for BHRAGS issued a statement saying the nonprofit has served New Yorkers for more than 50 years “with integrity and the highest ethical standards, and we take the allegations against Mr. Samedy seriously.”
It said Samedy is on administrative leave, with his duties handed off to the company's chief operating officer, and that the company is cooperating with law enforcement.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the city would “definitely be looking into” existing contracts that the city has with BHRAGS.
The existence of a search warrant naming Farah and Debbie Louis doesn’t necessarily indicate that prosecutors plan to bring criminal charges against them, only that investigators persuaded a magistrate judge to allow them to dig deeper and seize evidence.
Nevertheless, the governor's office said Debbie Louis has been placed on leave, and a spokesperson for the City Council said the legislative body “takes any potential misconduct extremely seriously.”
“New Yorkers deserve confidence in their government,” the spokesperson said. “It is essential that the federal investigation proceed fairly and expeditiously to bring this matter to a resolution.”
FILE - New York Councilwoman Farah Louis speaks during a celebration ceremony for the refurbished George Floyd statue, after it was vandalized following its Juneteenth installation, July 22, 2021, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
