El Paso school open day after box of ammo from Fort Bliss Black Hawk falls through roof

Students at Parkland Elementary school were back in class Friday, one day after a box of ammunition from a Fort Bliss Black Hawk helicopter fell through the school's roof.

Ysleta Independent School District officials said no one was injured when the box fell, which happened after classes had ended for the day on Thursday.

"No students or staff were ever in danger," district officials said in a press release.

The box of ammunition made a hole in the school's roof at about 3:45 p.m. Thursday and caused a power outage in one portion of the building, officials said.

Fort Bliss officials said the dropped ammunition caused damage to both the roof and a classroom at the school.

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Mike Brantley, spokesman for Fort Bliss, confirmed that the aircraft was a Black Hawk helicopter. The ammunition fell about 1,000 feet, but officials had no concerns that it could have detonated, Brantley confirmed.

The Black Hawk, which is assigned to the post, was conducting a training mission when an ammunition was accidentally dropped while flying over Parkland Elementary School, post officials said.

Fort Bliss officials arrived at the scene within 30 minutes to secure the ammunition and take it back to the post, Brantley confirmed.

Post officials said they are going to "reassess current flight patterns to ensure that incidents similar to this will not occur again" as they conduct an investigation into the incident.

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"I'm extremely sorry for any damage done to the neighboring elementary school, and I am grateful that no one was injured,” Col. Jay Hopkins, commander of the 1st Armored Division Combat Aviation Brigade, said in a statement. “The incident is under investigation."

Brantley said there is no timetable for when the investigation will be completed.

Madlin Mekelburg is a reporter with the USA Today Network Austin Bureau; she may be reached at 512-479-6606; mmekelburg@elpasotimes.com; @madlinbmek on Twitter.

Aaron Martinez may be reached at 546-6249; aamartinez@elpasotimes.com; @AMartinez31 on Twitter.