A 12-year-old student was allegedly shot to death by another 12-year-old Thursday at their middle school in Greenville, South Carolina.
The assailant was charged with murder, possession of a firearm at a school and possession of a weapon by someone under 18, after allegedly shooting and killing Jamari Cortez Bonaparte Jackson, according to the New York Post. Police found the assailant hiding under a deck at a home close to the school, the outlet reported.
The assailant was still armed at the time, according to a statement from Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis, the New York Post reported.
“He was hiding. He’s a young man, probably didn’t understand the consequences of what had just happened. I don’t think he knew what to do, honestly, except for to leave the school,” the Sheriff told a local news conference, according to the New York Post.
However you feel compelled, please pray for & send your thoughts to the family of 12-year-old Jamari Cortez Bonaparte Jackson.
He was killed in a school shooting at Tanglewood Middle School. We’re hoping to learn more from the Greenville Co. Sheriff’s Office Friday. @wyffnews4 pic.twitter.com/gN4Kj3XlBd
— Kylie Jones WYFF (@kyliejoneswyff) April 1, 2022
Jackson was pronounced dead at the Prisma Health Greenville Memorial Hospital emergency room, according to Greenville News. (RELATED: Child Shot To Death In Parked Car Amid City-Wide Crime Spree)
The assailant was taken to the Department of Juvenile Justice in Columbia, according to a Facebook post from Greenville County Sheriff’s Office.
“My heart breaks for this young boy’s family and my prayers are with them tonight. Additionally, I will be praying for the other young boy who pulled the trigger and his family. I can not fathom what would cause someone to do this to another human being and especially at that age, but I know it’s a situation where we all need to turn to God,” Sheriff Lewis wrote in the post.