Suspect in custody after shooting at Warner Robins High School, officials say
WARNER ROBINS — A physical altercation between two students in a school bathroom led to gunfire that injured one student at Warner Robins High School, and prompted a lockdown and massive law enforcement response to the school in Middle Georgia Wednesday afternoon, officials said.
The 14-year-old suspect, a ninth grader, was in custody after originally fleeing the school, and after a search, officials said.
The school resource deputy arrived to help the injured student “within seconds and quickly applied tourniquets,” Houston County Sheriff Matt Moulton said at a news conference Wednesday evening.
“Today, a call that we train for every year happened to come to Houston County,” Moulton said.
The injured student was taken to a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, according to officials. Earlier reports indicated two students were transported to a hospital, but the sheriff’s office later clarified just one student was injured. Authorities did not release the age of the injured student.
School security video helped authorities get a description of the suspect, who was apprehended about a half-mile from the campus in a neighborhood east of South Davis Drive.
Houston County School District Superintendent Richard Rogers said the school will be closed to students for the rest of the week, and Friday will be a staff-only day.
“Now we focus on healing. We focus on our students and staff,” Rogers said.
The school district’s crisis support team will be at the school Friday for staff and on Monday when students return to the school, Rogers said.
The school locked down under a Code Red, the Houston County School District said in an earlier statement. At the time of that statement, the district said “a student was shot earlier today at Warner Robins High and we have one reported injury.”
Students were released in a “controlled dismissal,” with law enforcement still on scene, the district said.
School dismissal normally takes place at 3 p.m.
About 2:45 p.m., the sheriff’s office first posted to social media about a shooting at the school, at 401 South Davis Drive in Warner Robins, and advised people to avoid the area.
“There is a significant law enforcement presence due to a shooting on campus,” the sheriff’s office posted to Facebook.
Warner Robins High School is about 20 miles south of Macon. Students went back to school August 4 for the start of the new academic year. The school, which counts former Georgia Gov. Sonny Purdue among its graduates, has more than 1,600 students, according to its website.
Gov. Brian Kemp posted to social media commending first responders for their quickly getting to the scene.
“Their action quickly brought the situation under control and kept students, faculty, and staff safe,” Kemp said.
Students said they were shaken by the experience as they exited the school, and parents arriving to pick them up described the terrifying message exchanges during the lockdown.
Nina McCrary went straight to the school this afternoon when her daughter, 10th grader Amya, texted her there was a lockdown.
Somebody was shot, Amya told her. Then, “I don’t want to die.”
“I was terrified,” McCrary said, standing outside the school.
She kept texting her daughter to ask if she was OK, and Amya replied she was fine.
Around 3:30 p.m., the sheriff’s office said authorities had a suspect in custody — to the relief of parents gathered outside the school.
Crystal Weldon, 43, said her daughter called her from where she was hiding in a classroom, her voice hushed on the phone.
Weldon rushed to the school, but around 4 p.m., she was still waiting to take her daughter home.
“After today, she probably won’t return until next week,” Weldon said. “This is going to be traumatizing not only to the parents, but also the kids.”
After dismissal from school shortly before 5 p.m., Laila Ragin, 14, a ninth grader who said she heard a gunshot, said the episode had left her frightened and immediately prompted her to phone her family.
“I was scared. I thought today could have been my last day (alive). I was just trying to talk to my mom and dad and make sure my brother was OK,” Laila told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
She said the gunshot sounded like “a big pop.”
“Right when I heard it, the Code Red was issued. … Everybody got to the back of the class,” she said. “Lights were off, and everybody was quiet, waiting for further instructions.”