DES MOINES, Iowa -- A gunman shot and killed a prominent Iowa high school football coach in the school's weight room early Wednesday and was taken into custody shortly afterward, authorities said.

The gunman shot Aplington-Parkersburg High School coach Ed Thomas at about 8 a.m. with about 50 students in the school, including several in the weight room at the time. School was not in session, and no one else was injured in the attack, authorities said.

Thomas, the 2005 NFL high school football coach of the year, was airlifted to a hospital and died, his family said in a statement.

Thomas coached current Jaguars center Brad Meester until he graduated from the school in 1995.

"It’s just a tragic thing that’s really happened, and it’s been hard to believe," said Meester, who heard the news when he was working out. "There are so many people that love this guy. I know he means a lot to that town and all that he has done for that town."

"He's such a tremendous guy," Meester added. "Really a role model for anyone who's ever known him. He taught us things like hard work, taking pride in what we do. He treated each and every one of us like we were his kids."

The suspect was being held in Butler County Jail.

Authorities would not say if the suspect was a student at the school. But school district board secretary Sue Miller said she had heard he was not.

The district's superintendent and a guidance counselor were meeting with students who were in the weight room at the time of the shooting.

"No kids were hurt, we're thankful for that," Superintendent Jon Thompson told KOEL radio. "They did witness this, and so we have counselors at the site to talk with the kids."

The school is in Parkersburg, about 80 miles northeast of Des Moines.

Thomas compiled a career record of 292-84 in 37 seasons as a head coach, 34 of them at Aplington-Parkersburg, and was one of the most well-known high school football coaches in Iowa. He was honored as the NFL High School Coach of the Year in 2005, and four of his former players are in the NFL: Green Bay's Aaron Kampman, Jacksonville's Brad Meester, Detroit's Jared DeVries and Denver's Casey Wiegmann.

DeVries, a defensive end with the Lions, walked off the practice field in Allen Park, Mich., toward the end of its morning practice, apparently shaken.

Team officials said DeVries was not immediately available for comment.

Thomas made national headlines last year when he insisted that the high school's football field, named in his honor, be rebuilt as a way to help restore community pride in Parkersburg after it was hit by a powerful tornado in May 2008 that killed six people and destroyed the high school.