NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — Police in Virginia say they’ve charged a 15-year-old boy in a shooting that wounded two fellow students at their high school. Newport News police said Tuesday that the teen was charged with aggravated malicious wounding, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and other weapons offenses. Police spokeswoman Kelly King says the teen was charged as a juvenile. Students at Heritage High School were in their second full week of the school year Monday when shots rang out, sending students and staff seeking places to hide. Chief Steve Drew says a 17-year-old boy and 17-year-old girl were shot, but their injuries didn’t appear life-threatening.
UPDATE:
UPDATE: Police say two students have been wounded in a shooting at a Virginia high school and a suspect is in custody. Newport News police Chief Steve Drew said Monday that a boy was shot in the face at Heritage High School and a girl was shot in the leg. Both 17-year-olds were taken to the hospital and neither injury was thought to be life-threatening. Police said they had taken a boy into custody. The chief said authorities believe the suspect and victims knew one another but did not provide details. Drew said the firearm was found at the scene of the shooting. The school system’s superintendent said the high school does random searches for guns.
EARLIER: Lynchburg School officials are reassuring parents that students at Lynchburg’s Heritage High School are safe; they say parents have been calling the school after hearing about a shooting in Newport News at a school with the same name. Newport News school officials are reporting a weapons-related incident at the school with at least two victims, and students are being evacuated. Heritage High School in Lynchburg is not affected and all students are safe.