One student has been killed at a high school in a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, while another is in critical condition. The shooting was "accidental," local authorities said, without elaborating.
“Two students were involved in a shooting during dismissal today at Huffman High School. The school was placed on a brief lockdown, and police were called to the scene. Students have been released and police are actively investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting,” the Birmingham, Alabama school system said in a statement.
One of the injured students died at the hospital. The other is reported in “critical, but stable” condition, local media reported. One employee of the school was treated for minor injuries at the scene and released.
“Right now we have a lot of unanswered questions,” Birmingham PD chief Orlando Wilson told reporters on Wednesday evening. All he could confirm that there were two victims with gunshot wounds, male and female, both 17 and African-American. The female victim died, Wilson said.
The chief would not comment on reporters’ speculation that the boy was in the process of showing off a handgun to several girls when it accidentally fired.
“Let us do our job,” Wilson told reporters. “We’ll give you the answers as they come.”
No arrests were made in the incident. The school will reopen on Thursday.
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