One student was killed in a shooting inside a high school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on Wednesday, police said. It was the state’s second school shooting in a week.
Choking up, Winston-Salem Police Chief Catrina Thompson stated that the Mount Tabor High School student was taken to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, where he died of his injuries.
Thompson stated that the gunman, who was thought to be a student, was not in custody.
Officers from the Winston-Salem Police Department were “actively pursuing” the shooter.
Other schools in the vicinity were also closed for several hours “due to the search.”
Thompson stated that the shooting occurred shortly after noon. After being loaded onto buses and brought to a neighboring shopping center, students were reunited with their parents and guardians four hours later.
McManus stated that there were two deputies inside the premises at the time of the shooting.
“It’s a terrible day in Forsyth County,” stated Kimbrough.
He stated that EMS attended to “students who, understandably, were scared by this.”
Earlier, Winston-Salem police stated that the school had been locked down following the shooting. According to a Twitter tweet, officers barricaded the campus and were “doing everything possible to keep students safe.”
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said he has been updated on the issue and was “ready to provide any assistance required.”
Parents who were desperate for information parked their cars on the pavements several streets away from the high school while police directed traffic away from the site. Students and parents were observed leaving college and heading to a local shopping area.
Roads to the school were blocked by police, and multiple emergency vehicles were on the site. According to local media, police, an ambulance, and the fire department were all on the site. According to the agency’s Charlotte office, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives responded to the incident.
The incident occurred on the eighth day of the school district’s in-person classes. The event occurs just two days after a shooting at Wilmington’s New Hanover High School.
On Monday, a 15-year-old teenager shot another adolescent after a quarrel between several pupils devolved into a chaotic situation within a school catwalk. The victim was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and the defendant is charged with four counts, including attempted first-degree murder.
For the second time this week, a shooting occurred in a North Carolina school “Cooper stated. “We must endeavor to protect student and instructor safety, capture the shooter immediately, and keep guns off school grounds.
Counselors will be available to speak with youth at Friends Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, according to city officials.
The Associated Press and Emma Dill of the Wilmington StarNews contributed.
