'Multiple Injuries' Reported in Shooting at Virginia High School
17:08 GMT 20.09.2021 (Updated: 18:22 GMT 20.09.2021)
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According to local reports, at least two people have been shot in an "incident" at a high school in southern Virginia.
Local news outlet WAVY reported Monday that two people had been rushed to the hospital with gunshot wounds following an altercation at Heritage High School in Newport News, Virginia.
Newport News Police told reporters that the wounds were not believed to be life-threatening. Both victims were 17 years old, one boy shot in the face and one girl shot in the leg, both of whom are believed to have known the perpetrator prior to the shooting. Police also said they don't believe any other students were targeted.
Police haven't given information about the number of suspects or their characteristics, but they dismissed reports of active shooters remaining on the school campus. Photos posted on social media showed a swarm of police officers, as well as a large number of students and staff, outside the front entrance.
BREAKING: A source confirms there was an "incident" inside Heritage High School in Newport News. Someone has been shot, extent of injuries unknown at this time. @13NewsNow pic.twitter.com/tiSfizZXKe
— Evan Watson (@EvanWatsonNews) September 20, 2021
According to a reporter with local ABC affiliate 13 News Now, another student is believed to have a broken arm, which likely resulted from the scramble to evacuate, and another student has been hospitalized after suffering an asthma attack during the incident.
School administrators are evacuating students to nearby tennis courts, where police are allowing parents to pick up their children.
Despite its name, the high school also includes middle school students from a nearby school that was torn down and in the process of being rebuilt.
As American students have returned to school for the fall 2021 semester after a school year of shutdowns and hybrid learning schemes to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the epidemic of school shootings has come back as well. According to Education Week, 15 such incidents have happened in 2021, more than the 10 that happened in 2020 but not yet approaching the number of 2019, when 25 school shootings were reported.
Earlier on Wednesday, another shooting occurred at Russia's Perm State University in the central Ural region. According to Russia's Ministry of Health, six people were killed and 24 were wounded, 19 of them with gunshot wounds. Video posted during the incident showed dozens of students leaping from second-story windows to escape.
