NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Two 17-year-old students were shot Monday morning in an incident reported at Heritage High School in Virginia, Newport News police Chief Steve Drew said. At least two other students were also taken to hospitals after they appeared to be injured while evacuating.
Authorities took the suspected shooter into custody Monday afternoon, Drew said.
Update 3 p.m. EDT Sept. 20: Drew said investigators have recovered a firearm at the scene of Monday’s shooting.
“The next steps will be to try to determine why, why did this happen?” Drew said.
Authorities took the suspected shooter, identified as a juvenile boy, into custody hours after the shooting. At a news conference, Drew declined to say whether the suspect is a student.
“My point of bringing us together is to let the community know that he is in custody,” he said, adding that the suspect was not apprehended at the school.
Update 2:55 p.m. EDT Sept. 20: Drew said Monday afternoon that authorities took the suspected shooter who opened fire earlier at Heritage High School in Newport News into custody.
“The individual is in custody,” Drew said, crediting “individuals who called in, family members who called in from our students here” and “the cooperation that we have” for the arrest.
Update 1:45 p.m. EDT Sept. 20: Drew said investigators continue working to identify the person who opened fire Monday at Heritage High School, injuring two 17-year-old students.
“There’s been some evidence recovered at the scene and in other parts of the school grounds,” the chief said at a news conference. He added that video footage showed the suspect, who knew both shooting victims.
“We do believe that they knew each other,” Drew said. “When you ask me about a threat, I don’t believe that this individual is searching the community to hurt members. I believe there was some type of altercation, but I don’t want to speculate on what that is until we know for sure.”
Update 1:40 p.m. EDT Sept. 20: Police Chief Steve Drew said a 17-year-old young man was shot in the side of the face Monday and a 17-year-old young woman was shot in the leg in an incident reported at Heritage High School.
Both shooting victims are expected to survive.
At least two other people were also taken to hospitals after gunshots rang out around 11:40 a.m. Drew said one person suffered a sprained or broken arm, apparently while running out of the school, while another was transported with asthma issues.
“At this point right now, the FBI and the police department are surgically going through and searching every inch of the school,” the chief said at a news conference.
“I need to make sure there’s no one else inside the school. We don’t believe there’s anyone injured. It is very possible and probable that we may find a student or a teacher, an employee that didn’t answer right away, that might have been scared, that’s in a closet or a locked room. We anticipate that.”
Update 1:15 p.m. EDT Sept. 20: Police said in an update that two people were taken from Heritage High School with gunshot wounds that did not appear to be life-threatening.
Authorities did not immediately provide more detail about who was shot or whether any suspects remain at large.
“There have been reports that there are active shooters at other schools in the city,” Sarah Ketchum, senior communications specialist at the Newport News Police Department, said in a statement. “That information is false.”
Police continue to investigate.
Original report: Police said students were being evacuated to the school’s tennis courts, where parents were being asked to meet them.
Shooting — Heritage High School -https://t.co/s6CcjGzwfi
— Newport News Police Department (@NewportNewsPD) September 20, 2021
Earlier, Michelle Price with Newport News Public Schools told WAVY-TV that a “major incident” happened at the school. Additional details were not immediately available.
Check back for updates to this developing story.
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