Updated as of 2/28/2024 at 3:30 p.m. ET
The suspect sought in connection to a high school shooting in Atlanta that left four students injured earlier this month has been identified as a 14-year-old boy.
The Atlanta Police Department announced Wednesday that the teen turned himself in. His name was not released due to his age. However, the police say he was a student.
He’s been charged with four counts of aggravated assault, one count of possession of a firearm by a minor and one count of possession of a firearm on school grounds, per 11Alive News.
“This arrest was made due to the hard work and collaboration between the Atlanta Public Schools Police and Atlanta Police and its Fugitive Squad. Both agencies will continue working together, with Atlanta Police Department taking the lead, as the investigation into the incident remains ongoing,” read a statement from Atlanta Public Schools.
No updates were given on the condition of the victims of the incident but no fatalities have been reported at this time.
What Happened?
We are only in the second month of 2024 and The Gun Violence Archive has reported 48 mass shootings. Of that list, Education Week reports that eight of them were school shootings - a chilling statistic that is unfortunately a common finding in the U.S. year after year.
“School shootings happen in the U.S. at an alarming rate, but they rarely happen elsewhere in the world. Eighty or 90 percent of all the school shootings in the world happen in the U.S. They are concentrated here,” said William Pelfrey Jr., Ph.D., professor of homeland security, emergency preparedness and criminal justice at the Virginia Commonwealth University, via VCU News.
The latest was a school shooting that nearly claimed the lives of four students.
On Valentine’s Day, Atlanta police responded to the parking lot of Benjamin E. Mays High School just after students were dismissed for the day. Police say a fight broke out around 4 p.m. as students spilled out of the school doors. The fight led to gunshots being fired which was heard by an officer who was already stationed on the school campus, according to Atlanta Public Schools Police Chief Ronald Applin.
From there, the officer requested backup. APS officers, ADP officers and the fire department arrived to the school. Authorities said in a press conference Wednesday evening three 17-year-olds and one 18-year-old were sent to Grady Hospital and are expected to survive their injuries. They are the only injuries reported at this time.
Police say just a few miles away from the school, officers tracked down a suspicious vehicle they believe may have been present at the scene of the shooting.
Read more from FOX 5 Atlanta:
“The information they were able to provide early on, was critical in us being able to quickly get a vehicle stopped at Baker Road and Commercial Drive,” said Atlanta Police Major Ralph Woolfolk.
In that car, stopped about five miles away from the school, was a 35-year-old mother, a 17-year-old girl, and another male. All three were taken to Atlanta Police headquarters for questioning. Major Woolfolk said all three were cooperating and speaking with investigators.
In addition to the three detained for questioning, many students had their afternoons interrupted and their extracurriculars cancelled by police conducted exhaustive one-on-one interviews in the school cafeteria, per FOX’s report. Major Woolfolks estimated about 100 students to get interview.
On the first day of this month, another shooting occurred at a high school in Powder Springs, Ga. Not only that, but this most recent shooting comes on the anniversary of the Parkland school shooting in 2018. This incident also comes just a few months after state legislators debated over whether teachers should be granted special rights to carry firearms in the classroom for protection, per 11Alive News.
In response to the shooting, the APS made a promise to heighten security measures within the school for the coming days.
“There’s gonna be a lot of visibility by our officers, we also have the assistance of the Atlanta Police Department. And we’re going to be very visible, we’re going to be very noticeable on campus tomorrow. In the hallways, outside, as they come into the school, very visible so that we can make sure they feel a lot more comfortable tomorrow when they come to school,” he said in the press conference Wednesday.
Correction: There were 48 “mass” shootings in 2024 not “school” shootings, as reported by The Gun Violence Archive.