A South Carolina high school will stay closed for the remainder of the week after three students were shot Wednesday.
Three students at the Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School in South Carolina suffered injuries from gunshots during a drive-by shooting during afternoon dismissal, school officials said in a statement. (RELATED: Teen Accused Of Shooting Marine In Times Square Refuses Plea Deal)
“As many are now aware, during afternoon dismissal at Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School three students sustained injuries from gunshots fired outside. The injured students are in stable condition at this time. We join their families, teachers and our entire community in continued prayer for their full recovery,” the school said in the statement.
Gun violence has no boundaries and touches every person & community.
This is my high school alma mater & the school in which I taught social studies in my hometown of Orangeburg, SC. Thinking of the Bruin community, the students & their families! https://t.co/jgk0lVLvnY
— Jaime Harrison, DNC Chair (@harrisonjaime) August 18, 2021
The alleged shooter remains in custody, Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell said according to WLTX. The suspect’s identity has not been released.
“We plan for these things, hoping we never have to use them,” superintendent Dr. Shawn Foster said about the students’ and faculty’s response to the shooting.
The school will remain closed for the rest of the week, including after-school and athletic practices, but will offer counseling at a nearby technology center and online, the school said.
Parents were required to report to the town’s technology center with proper identification to pick up their kids, who were moved there from the school after the shooting took place, The Times and Democrat reported.
The shooting triggered criticism from parents about rising gun violence in the area.
“I feel it’s getting worse with our guns and our kids and our children,” Tomekia Griffin, a parent of a 15-year-old who attends the school, told the Times and Democrat. “I’m going to see if I can sign him up for virtual.”
South Carolina has seen 77 mass shootings from 2014 until 2021, with 66 kids and 151 teens killed, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
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