A shooting at a high school in Georgia has left one student injured, while a teenage suspect was taken into custody after fleeing the scene, police said.
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The incident at Warner Robins High School, involving two ninth-grade students, took place just one week into the new school year. Dozens of law enforcement officers responded to the school in Warner Robins, about 164 km south-east of Atlanta.
Sheriff Matt Moulton said a group of students were inside a school bathroom when a verbal argument between two students escalated into a physical fight. One student was shot at about 2.15pm before the suspect fled.
A school resource officer arrived quickly, applied tourniquets to the injured student and stayed until emergency medical personnel arrived. The student was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
About an hour later, the suspect was arrested “without further incident” in a neighbourhood around 800 metres from the school, Moulton said.
“The school threat protocol and our training was followed perfectly today,” he said, adding that the incident could have had a much worse outcome.
Houston County Schools Superintendent Richard Rogers said the school would be closed to students on Thursday and Friday. Crisis counsellors will be available for staff on Friday and students on Monday.
