Student wounded in Arkansas junior high school shooting
Editor's Note: The student who was wounded in Monday's shooting died Wednesday. Read the latest update here. Our original story appears below.
A 15-year-old boy was shot Monday morning at a junior high school in Arkansas. The suspected gunman, a fellow classmate who is also 15, was arrested a short time later, police said. The incident took place inside Watson Chapel Junior High School as students switched classes around 10 a.m., Pine Bluff Police Chief Kelvin Sergeant said.
Initial reports had said the victim had died from a gunshot wound, but police spokesman Lieutenant David DeFoor said Monday afternoon that the teen was alive and that "bad information was released."
"The hospital will keep us updated directly to prevent further erroneous [information]," the department said, according to CBS affiliate KTHV.
A Facebook post from the school district said that the shooting was an "isolated incident and all students are safe." The school district told parents that there would be a "supervised release" to allow them to pick up their children.
Police said the Arkansas Department of Corrections dog squad found the suspect hiding behind a house near the school. The teen is being held at the Jack Jones Juvenile Detention Center and is awaiting charges. Police described the shooting as a "targeted incident" and said that a motive is under investigation.
The Associated Press said Monday was scheduled to be Watson Chapel's first day back for on-site learning after several weeks of weather-related issues closed the school. Pine Bluff is located some 44 miles south of Little Rock.