North Carolina School Shooting: 15-Year-Old Girl Shot in Neck
Cape Fear High School near Fayetteville, N.C. has been placed on lockdown Monday after a 15-year-old female student was shot in the neck.
The mysterious shooting occurred during lunch period.
Students told police authorities that they heard a “pop” as the injured girl exited the school cafeteria, but no one was aware of a gun or a gunman anywhere in the vicinity of the school.
Thus far, no arrests have been made and no guns have been recovered.
Cumberland County Sheriff Earl “Moose” Butler told reporters, “At this point all we know is this young girl was shot in the neck. We’re just waiting to see her condition.”
As of now the condition of the wounded student remains uncertain, but she is being treated for her injuries at a nearby hospital.
The spokeswoman for the sheriff told WRAL-TV, “It was such a chaotic moment that everyone was trying to figure out what happened.”
The school has gone into code red lockdown and parents have been advised to stay away from the school grounds while police conduct a manhunt to find the gunman.
Students will be unable to leave the school until authorities are able to assess that the situation is safe enough for parents to begin picking up their children.
A neighboring school, Mac Williams Middle School, was also placed on lockdown for some time until students were released at 2:45 p.m. local time.
ABC news reported that parents that had gathered outside of the schools speculated that gang related activity might be to blame for the shooting.
Nevertheless, school and police authorities have told reporters that they do not believe that the shooting is related to gang activity in the area.