A 12-year-old North Carolina boy has been accused of shooting a 12-year-old girl inside of a school gym at Hendersonville Middle School in Hendersonville.
WRAL reports that the incident happened Tuesday morning in front of around 35 classmates and staff members. According to authorities, the boy shot the suspect in the leg.
Human resource officers ran to the gym within minutes and stayed until police officers arrived at the scene.
“This is the type of day that, as a school system, we simply do not want to have efforts to have to respond to, but we are proud to say that’s exactly what took place today,” Dr. John Bryant with Henderson County Public Schools said.
Hendersonville Police Chief Bill Hollingsed said authorities are currently working to determine how and why a child brought a gun to school.
“We are going through witness statements from every single student and faculty member that was inside that gym as well as others to determine just what the intent was of that student,” Hollingsed said.
The suspect is currently being held at a juvenile detention facility, while the victim was rushed to the hospital. She’s said to be in stable condition.
“Our patient from the event at Hendersonville Middle School is in good, stable condition and resting comfortably,” Nancy Lindell, Mission Hospital spokesperson, said, according to Citizen-Times. “Her family requests privacy at this time. Thank you.”
Hollingsed added that he’s been in touch with the District Attorney’s Office and charges may follow once more details are learned. He added that the gun was a “real firearm.”
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[Feature Photo: Pixabay]
