Two teenage students were shot and injured when a youngster fired a gun inside a high school gymnasium in Philadelphia in neighbouring Pennsylvania state, according to local police.
A suspect is in custody, they said adding that they are still searching for at least one other juvenile. The shooting happened around 3 PM local time on Friday at the Delaware Valley Charter School, Philadelphia Police said. According to a report in the NBC 10 Philadelphia, a teen boy, who attends the school, pulled out a handgun inside the school's gymnasium and then the weapon fired.
The two students - a boy and a girl - and both 15-year-old were injured and were rushed to the hospital. The boy was hit in the arm and the girl appears to have been grazed by the same bullet, police said. Both are said to be in stable condition and are expected to recover. Police say it is unclear if the shooting was intentional or accidental.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said there were seven students inside the gym when the shooting happened and that the entire incident was caught on surveillance video. Ramsey said officials, using the video, were able to identify at least one alleged suspect. Through school records, officers went to the youngster's home and grabbed him.
"We had good response and were able to lock this down very, very quickly and get information very quickly as to who the suspect was and be able to locate that person very quickly and so this one worked out for us," the commissioner said. Those who knew the suspect describe him as a "straight A student" and could not understand as to why he would shoot inside the school.
The police however said they are still looking for another person who may have fired the gun. "It's just like any other investigation, now we're able to talk with the people that were shot, the victims, able to talk with some of the kids that may have seen what took place," Ramsey said. "We have one person in custody that was part of it, at least with an individual that had a gun, if not the shooter himself, and we're looking for a second person, perhaps a third."
The gun has not been recovered and police are searching trash cans and station concourses for the weapon. The school was placed on lockdown following the shooting and was quickly secured. Officials say students were searched and then released on a one-by-one basis. The school was completely cleared by evening. Police say the school does have security.
The building is also equipped with metal detectors, so investigators are trying to figure out how the student was able to get the gun into the school. Friday's attack was the latest in a string of US school shootings that have sparked a nationwide debate over gun control in the country.
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