Tensions and relief were palpable in Austin, Texas, where parents at Northeast Early College High School endured hours of anxious waiting to be reunited with their children following a shooting incident. According to FOX 7 Austin, the school was thrown into chaos Tuesday when a school district police officer was shot in the leg.

After the lockdown was lifted around 1:50 p.m., officials began a "controlled release" of students, ferrying them by bus to the nearby Delco Activity Center. The complex logistics led to significant delays, with traffic snarled down Manor Road and parents like Lydia Chavez waiting in line once more at the center, relieved yet frustrated. "It is kind of frustrating, but at least I already know she's alive, not waiting to find a dead body. So I’m feeling okay," Chavez told FOX 7 Austin.

One parent, Shay Galloway, described the agony of waiting several hours after hearing about the shooting before she could pick up her son. "My best friend had to tell me to calm down, to get my mind right, because all I was thinking was to come get my child. That's the only thing," Galloway said in a statement obtained by FOX 7 Austin. By 4 p.m., the school district had announced all students were accounted for at the center.

A similar narrative of concern and impatience was echoed by Amber Wynn, a parent who told CBS Austin, about the fright of receiving a text about gunfire from her child at school. Expressing her concerns, Wynn questioned, "Why can’t law enforcement do something when it’s being set instead of just waiting around until something happens?"

Despite the heavy police presence at the scene, with more than 15 law enforcement agencies responding to the incident, no arrests had been made in connection with the shooting at the time of reporting. This detail contributed to parents' unrest, as conveyed by Wynn to CBS Austin: "Where is the suspect at? All the kids are getting on the school bus, and leaving. What was his initial action, what was he trying to do, is he going to follow them, is he going to start again at another day?"

Classes and after-school activities at Northeast Early College High School were canceled on Wednesday, though the campus remained open for normal hours, providing meals and transportation for students in need.