A 13-year-old boy was shot Thursday at a Memphis K-8 school. Another student, who authorities believe was the shooter, was taken into custody.
The incident happened around 9:15 a.m. at Cummings K-8 School located on Cummings Street in South Memphis.
The victim was taken to the Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in critical but stable condition, WREG Memphis News reported.
“There’s no way a child should have a gun. This must stop,” said SCS Superintendent Joris Ray.
The victim and the suspect attended the school. Authorities say the suspect is a juvenile male, who left the scene in a vehicle, but he was later apprehended after police searched for him.
The school was cleared and placed on a temporary lockdown. All students were taken to Metropolitan Baptist Church, Shelby County Schools stated.
Parents were informed of the incident and were asked to bring identification when they came to pick up their child.
Ray said both middle and high schools students in SCS are subject to random metal detection and that the schools had recently gone through active shooter training.
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris posted a tweet about the shooting, saying, “We pray for the victim of this most recent shooting and all the young people who faced this unthinkable trauma. We also pray for the wisdom and courage needed to begin to curb gun violence. If we would demonstrate an ounce of the courage shown by the first responders who risk their lives when they answer these calls, we could do it. It’s past time.”
Thursday’s school shooting comes a week after a mass shooting at a Kroger grocery in Collierville, a suburb of Memphis. That shooting injured 15 victims, with one death. The police chief called it the “most horrific event” in the town’s history.
