Police: Teen charged in high school shooting that wounded 2
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John C. Clark
Members of the Virginia State Police SWAT Team gather behind a Bearcat tactical vehicle after clearing Heritage High School in Newport News, Va., Monday, Sept. 20, 2021, following a shooting at the school.
Jonathon Gruenke
People embrace outside Heritage High School as Newport News Police are on scene responding to a shooting incident Monday, Sept. 20, 2021 in Newport News, Va.
John C. Clark
Police respond to the scene of a shooting at Heritage High School in Newport News, Va., on Saturday Sept. 20, 2021. Newport News police Chief Steve Drew said two students were shot and taken to the hospital and neither injury was thought to be life-threatening. The chief said authorities believe the suspect and victims knew one another but did not provide details.
John C. Clark
Police respond to the scene of a shooting at Heritage High School in Newport News, Va., on Saturday Sept. 20, 2021. Newport News police Chief Steve Drew said two students were shot and taken to the hospital and neither injury was thought to be life-threatening. The chief said authorities believe the suspect and victims knew one another but did not provide details.
Kaitlin McKeown
Newport News Police are on the scene at Heritage High School responding to a shooting incident Monday, Sept. 20, 2021 in Newport News, Va.
Kaitlin McKeown
People gather outside of Heritage High School following a shooting, Monday, Sept. 20, 2021, in Newport News, Va.
John C. Clark
Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew addresses the media during an update of a shooting at Heritage High School in Newport News, Va., Monday, Sept. 20, 2021.
John C. Clark
Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew addresses the media during an update of a shooting at Heritage High School in Newport News, Va., Monday, Sept. 20, 2021.
Jonathon Gruenke
People console one another outside Heritage High School, near the tennis courts, following a shooting at the school, Monday, Sept. 20, 2021, in Newport News, Va. Students were evacuated to the tennis courts and parents were allowed to reunite with them there.
Kaitlin McKeown
A Newport News Police Department Tactical Operations Unit patrols the perimeter of Heritage High School following a shooting, Monday, Sept. 20, 2021, in Newport News, Va.
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — A 15-year-old Virginia boy has been charged in a shooting that wounded two fellow students at their high school, police announced Tuesday.
Newport News police said in a news release that the teen was charged with two counts of aggravated malicious wounding, two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and other weapons-related offenses. The teen was charged Monday as a juvenile, police spokeswoman Kelly King said by email.
Students at Heritage High School were in their second full week of the school year on Monday when the shots rang out before noon, sending students and staff seeking places to hide. A 17-year-old boy was shot in the side of his face and a 17-year-old girl was shot in the leg, Chief Steve Drew said at a news conference. Both students were taken to the hospital and neither injury was thought to be life-threatening, he said. The suspect fled the scene, police said.
In a Facebook Live chat with the community on Tuesday, Drew called the shooting an isolated act. Based on interviews, he said, police believe the suspect didn’t go to school to harm multiple people but he had an issue with two individuals. The firearm was found at the shooting scene, he added.
Video from the scene showed tactical units arriving at the school, frantic parents on sidewalks talking on cellphones as crime scene tape stretched across parts of the school parking lot.
Police responded to the school and searched the building, clearing it room by room, Drew said. They conducted an extensive search of the area after receiving identifying information about the suspect and tips from the community and school personnel, police said.
About three hours after the shooting, a family member took the teen to juvenile services and he was then taken to Newport News police headquarters for an interview, police said in a news release Tuesday.
Drew said two others were taken to the hospital after the shooting: one whose arm was injured as people ran from school and another because of asthma.
