North Carolina School Shooting Leaves Teen Severely Wounded
A school shooting at Cape Fear High School in LaFayette, N.C., has left a 17-year-old girl severely injured with a gunshot wound to the neck, WRAL.com reported.
The shooting, which occurred during lunch hours, left the high school, as well as the nearby Mac Williams Middle School, on lockdown.
The teen, whose identity has not been released, was rushed to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center and her family was notified. She is currently in stable condition and was the only victim in the shooting.
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Witnesses told WRAL.com that they heard a "pop" sound and saw the girl collapse as she was walking outside of the school cafeteria.
No arrests have been made and authorities are still trying to determine where the bullet came from.
The superintendent of the Cumberland County Schools, Frank Till, told The Fayetteville Observer that it is possible that the gunshot may not have been fired by another student or anyone else on campus. In addition, he said that a school resource officer was about 20 feet away and an assistant principal was several yards away from the girl at the time of the shooting, but neither saw anyone approach her, leaving authorities to suspect she may have been hit by a stray bullet that came from a drive-by shooter or a hunter.
All parents were notified of the situation and after being on lockdown for nearly two hours, students from both schools were released either to their parents or were escorted to the school buses they typically take home. Parents that were notified via the school’s recorded message were encouraged to stay away from the campus, though some arrived earlier at the scene after being contacted by their own children.
Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Debbie Tanna told ABC News that the students were being led out of the buildings with their hands up and would be searched before boarding the buses.
School officials are looking into the possibility of the shooting being gang-related.
