A shooting at a Georgia high school on Wednesday (August 12) left one student wounded. Later, police caught the teenage suspect who fled the Warner Robins High School scene and took them into custody, per the Associated Press.
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Details About The Georgia High School Shooting
The shooting at Warner Robins High School involving two ninth-graders occurred just one week into the new school year. Warner Robins is about 102 miles southeast of Atlanta. The incident prompted a response from dozens of law enforcement officers.
“Today, a call that we train for every year happened to come to Houston County,” Sheriff Matt Moulton said at an evening news conference.
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The sheriff said a group of students was inside a school bathroom when a verbal altercation between two students escalated into a physical fight. One student was shot at 2:15 p.m., and the suspect fled. A school resource officer arrived quickly, applied tourniquets to the student’s injuries and remained until emergency services personnel arrived.
It’s unclear whether the school has metal detectors in place. Sheriff Moulton declined to take questions at the news conference, citing the active investigation.
How Was The Suspect Caught?
The injured student received treatment for non-life-threatening injuries at a local hospital. Sheriff Moulton did not specify the type of injuries the student had. An hour later, authorities caught the suspect “without further incident” in a neighborhood about a half-mile (800 meters) from the school, Moulton said.
“The school threat protocol and our training was followed perfectly today,” Moulton said. “Fortunately what could have been a much-worse incident was minimized to us only having one student injured.”
School Temporarily Closed For Staff & Students
Additionally, Houston County Schools Superintendent Richard Rogers said the school would be closed for staff on Thursday and students on Thursday and Friday. Crisis counselors would be available at the school for staff on Friday and for students on Monday. “We’re going to focus on healing,” Rogers said.
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Associated Press contributed to this story via AP Newsroom.
