3-8-18-ERNIE ALLEN’S-TOP STORY-
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A 17-year-old girl was killed in a shooting at dismissal time Wednesday at an Alabama high school and a 17-year-old male student was injured, authorities said, adding they were investigating it as accidental.
Birmingham Interim Police Chief Orlando Wilson said investigators are still seeking to determine the specific circumstances of the shooting shortly before 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at Huffman High School, adding they had begun seeking out witnesses and school surveillance video.
“At this particular time, we are considering this accidental,” the police chief said at a news conference. “Right now we have a lot of unanswered questions.”
Wednesday’s shooting prompted a brief lockdown at the magnet school in Alabama’s largest city. Students were subsequently released and authorities said they had determined that the shooting was not perpetrated by “someone from the outside” entering the school. Wilson declined to say who fired the gun or to identify what firearm was retrieved by authorities.
No arrests were immediately reported and the two students weren’t identified.
“We are asking questions from the staff, the students, anyone who was in that area,” Wilson said. “This should not happen in schools.”
He said police have already questioned students but declined to say how many. Wilson did confirm metal detectors were in place and functioning in the school.
Huffman High in northeast Birmingham is one of the largest high schools in the city. The Birmingham City School system said in a statement that the shooting prompted a brief lockdown and added two students were involved as school was letting out.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin joined the news conference and said the deceased student would have turned 18 in about 30 days and was a senior “who had aspirations and dreams to be a nurse.”
“We are not just talking about some person, (we’re) talking about losing a part of our future. Our hearts are heavy,” Woodfin said.
Birmingham City Schools Superintendent Lisa Herring said her goal was to support the family of the teen who died and to reassure parents about the safety of their children.
AP
