One Killed, One Injured in Alabama School Shooting

One student has been killed in a shooting at a Birmingham, Alabama, high school, local police say. Another student was injured in the incident, as well.

The deceased victim is a 17-year-old black female, who suffered a gunshot wound. The injured victim is a 17-year-old black male, who also suffered gunshot wounds. Neither names have been released.

In a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, Birmingham’s interim police chief, Orlando Wilson, said they are investigating the incident as an “accidental shooting.”

There were reports of a third victim, an employee with minor injuries, but police did not confirm those reports. Police also did not confirm reports that the male student was “showing off” the gun when the accidental shots rang out.

The incident apparently happened as the school was dismissing students. The school was then placed on a brief lockdown after the shots were fired.

Birmingham City Schools superintendent Lisa Herring also assured that school will resume Thursday with heightened security.

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin stressed the importance of recognizing the community’s loss in the wake of this shooting. He revealed that the victim had desires of being a nurse and had already been accepted into a college program.

“While I know there’s an active investigation going on, I just want to remind all of us, we lost a person today. Not just a person, a student,” Woodfin said. “But I’m quickly reminded, this is not just a student. This is someone’s daughter, someone’s niece, someone’s best friend, someone’s granddaughter we lost. This is a 17-year-old who 30 days from now would be 18. A graduating senior that had been accepted in college already, that had dreams and aspirations to be a nurse.”

“We’re not just talking about a person. We’re talking about part of our future,” he added.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey tweeted that the incident “reaffirms there’s no place for students to have firearms on campus.”

Photo Credit: WVTM