Student shoots and injures peer at Greenville, South Carolina middle school

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On Thursday, authorities confirmed that one student was taken to the hospital from a Greenville, South Carolina middle school after being shot by another student.  Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis said that the teenage shooter was taken into custody near Tanglewood Middle School not long after the shooting that happened in the front part of the school.

Sheriff Lewis said of the shooter at a news conference: “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.”  Lewis also said that a police officer at the school called in the shooting and requested emergency backup around 12:30 p.m., causing more than 200 deputies and other law enforcement officers to rush to the school.

The condition of the student who was shot is not known, Greenville County Schools spokesman Tim Waller said in a statement. Deputies are still investigating the shooting and currently have no motive for why the shooting occurred.  Greenville County Schools Superintendent Burke Royster said: “I’m not sure after a full and thorough law enforcement investigation anyone will really know what was going through the mind of that young person who took this rash act.”

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