Student killed in gun accident at Ala. high school ID'd; person of interest in custody
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- A student killed in an apparent gun accident at an Alabama high school Wednesday has been identified as 17-year-old Courtlin Lashawn Arrington, and a person of interest is in custody, reports CBS affiliate WIAT.
Arrington was killed and another student was injured yesterday afternoon in the incident at Huffman High School in Birmingham. No details were immediately available about the arrest. Formal charges are pending as the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office reviews the case, WIAT reports.
An autopsy will be performed today on Arrington, the Jefferson County Coroner tells the station.
The school was closed Thursday as officials conducted a thorough safety sweep after metal detectors and other security measure failed to keep students from handling a gun in a classroom.
Birmingham Interim Police Chief Orlando Wilson said investigators are reviewing surveillance video for clues and interviewing students and staff to figure out exactly what led to the shooting.
"We consider it accidental until the investigation takes us elsewhere," Wilson said. "We have a lot of unanswered questions. There are so many unknowns at this time."
The gun was recovered, but Wilson declined to say who fired it.
"We're hoping if we have footage, that it will reveal it," he said. "If we have witnesses, we're hoping they will tell it."
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said the young woman killed was a senior who was about to turn 18 and had been accepted at college, with "aspirations and dreams to be a nurse."
"We are not just talking about some person, we're talking about losing a part of our future. Our hearts are heavy," the mayor said.