(CNN)A
South Carolina teenager is suspected of opening fire at an elementary
school playground, wounding two students and a teacher -- just one
minute after placing a teary phone call that led to the discovery of his
father's body at a nearby home.
As
the shooting unfolded Wednesday afternoon behind Townville Elementary
School, the teenager, who was not identified because of his age, was
taken to the ground by a volunteer firefighter and taken into custody by
deputies, authorities said.
The
father of the suspected shooter was found dead after being shot,
Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore told reporters. Shore identified him
as Jeffrey Osborne, 47, who was found at a house about 2 miles from the
school.
The teenager called his
grandmother at 1:44 p.m. ET, sobbing and speaking unintelligibly, Shore
said at a second news conference. The grandparents went to the boy's
house next door to check on the father and the boy. The couple found the
father but not the boy.
"He did die at the scene from gunshot wounds," Shore said of the father.
About 1:45 p.m., a teacher at the school called 911 to report a shooting.
One
male student was critically injured with a gunshot to the leg and
another boy was struck in a foot. A female teacher was wounded in a
shoulder, sheriff's Capt. Garland Major said.
It
is unclear whether the alleged shooter knew any of the school victims.
Major said the motive is unclear, but terrorism has been ruled out.
CNN has not determined whether the boy has an attorney.
Anderson
County Sheriff John Skipper said the boy started firing after getting
out of his vehicle in the parking lot near the playground.
Witnesses
told police it appeared the boy was headed toward the school. Several
teachers locked doors to prevent him from getting in.
School
nurses and emergency responders saved the life of the boy who was shot
in the leg, said Scott Stoller, the director of EMS in Anderson County.
"Training, proper equipment is absolutely critical and without their
early intervention the outcome would have been very different," he said.
The
firefighter, Jamie Brock, declined to meet with the media, but Stoller
said the man said he did nothing any other firefighter wouldn't have
done.
The teacher and one student taken to
AnMed Health Center were released Wednesday evening, hospital spokesman
Ross Norton told CNN.
The other
child was taken to Greenville Health System emergency trauma center by
helicopter, spokeswoman Sandy Dees said. Dees told CNN on Wednesday
night that student was in critical condition.
The mother of a student at Townville Elementary School told CNN Greenville affiliate WYFF that her daughter and classmates huddled in a bathroom.
"Her
teacher was shaken up. I know all the kids were scared. There was a
bunch of kids crying," the unidentified woman said. "She didn't talk for
about five minutes when I got her. ... I'm just so scared. I don't even
want her to go to school now."
The mother said she was praying for the families of the injured.
The shooting occurred about 1:45 p.m. ET, officials said.
Townville
is in the extreme western part of the state, southwest of Greenville
and near the Georgia line. Anderson County has a population of about
194,692. The elementary school has about 280 students. About 30 school
employees are listed on the school's website.
School has been canceled for the rest of the week.
Joanne
Avery, superintendent of Anderson County School District 4, told the
media that school personnel have participated in active-shooter training
and she said that training kept the incident from being much worse.
Gov. Nikki Haley said she would make sure law enforcement would have the resources it needed as investigators do their work.
No comments:
Post a Comment