A juvenile suspect being sought in a shooting that injured another student inside a northwestern Pennsylvania high school has turned himself in to police, authorities said.
“Earlier today, the suspect in yesterday’s school shooting turned himself in to the Erie police department," Erie city officials said in a social media post Wednesday evening.
Erie police earlier said the suspect left the school after multiple shots were fired just after 9:20 a.m. Tuesday in a hallway at Erie High School. The injured student was taken to a hospital and was said to be in stable condition.
Mike Nolan, deputy chief of the Erie police department, said investigators were confident that it was what he called “an isolated targeted incident and not a random act of violence.” He declined to discuss a possible motive but said both victim and suspect were students at the high school.
Nolan said juvenile allegations had already been filed. District Attorney Elizabeth Hirz indicated that the suspect would face only juvenile charges because the person’s age is younger than 15. Nolan said the 9mm weapon used hadn’t been recovered and the exact number of shots fired hadn’t yet been confirmed.
The school district has said there would be no school for Erie High School students for the remainder of the week, with the annual spring break to be observed next week. Officials said counselors would be available for students, staff and parents at an adult education school.
Officials said they would release detailed information in the coming days about the plan for a return to school and vowed to take “every measure possible" to ensure the safety of students and staff.
