On Tuesday, two students and a teacher were wounded after a gunman opened fire at a Townsville, S.C. elementary school, as reported by CNN and The Post and Courier. A teenage suspect is currently in custody.
Representatives from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office say they first received a report about the shooting on Wednesday afternoon. The two students who were injured by the shooter were airlifted, and a teacher was driven to the nearest hospital. The rest of the student body was bussed to a nearby church to await parent pickup. One of the student’s mothers, Jamie Meredith, told NBC-WYFF her child was shaken by the event:
“She said they went in the bathroom. I don’t know how they knew to go in the bathroom, but I know her teacher was shaken up. I know all the kids were scared. There was a bunch of kids crying. She didn’t talk for about 5 minutes when I got her. I’m just so scared. I don’t even want her to go to school now.”
Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw said he is working with other officers in the area, but the investigation is currently ongoing:
“I have spoken with Sheriff John Skipper in Anderson County and have offered to make available any resources and assistance from the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office that he needs as the investigation continues.”
The story is still developing, but police have said a recent death they are investigating has a “direct connection” to the shooting (update — the teenager reportedly killed his father before driving to the school), yet there’s little information coming forward so far on the teenage suspect.
(Via CNN & The Post and Courier & NBC-WYFF)