3 students injured, 2 charged, in shooting near Baltimore's Carver Vocational-Technical High School
BALTIMORE -- Two of the three teenagers who were shot near Carver Vocational-Technical High School in West Baltimore on Friday are facing charges in relation to the shooting.
The shooting happened near the intersection of Presstman Street at North Bentalou Street around 7:50 a.m. The intersection is at the corner of the school.
A 16-year-old and 15-year-old boy were found shot at the scene, police said. The third victim, another 15-year-old boy, walked into an area hospital.
One of the victims was shot in the chest and required a chest press and tourniquet, police said. All of the teenagers are expected to survive their injuries.
Detectives learned over the course of their investigation that the parents of one of the 15-year-old boys took him to the school to assault someone, according to authorities.
The parents of the teen allegedly joined him in the assault, during which time the teen pistol-whipped his intended victim, police said.
The teen then fled from the physical encounter and ran into another 15-year-old boy. They both allegedly engaged in a verbal altercation, pulled out handguns, and started shooting at each other.
Police said the two 15-year-old boys were injured by the gunfire, and a 16-year-old boy was injured by their crossfire. Following the melee, another student at Carver Vocational-Technical High School grabbed one of the guns that had been used during the shooting and ran off with it, police said.
The 16-year-old boy was treated for his injuries at a local hospital and then released from that hospital, according to authorities.
Police said on Friday that the two 15-year-old boys remained hospitalized but were in stable condition. Once the two 15-year-old boys are released from the hospital, they will be charged as adults, police said. Those charges will include attempted murder and handgun violations.
Investigators have also taken into custody the two parents who were present at the time of the original assault. Charges for the parents are currently pending, according to authorities.
Alex Glaze spoke with a woman who told WJZ she heard the gunshots and was so scared she couldn't even get up to go inside her home.
"I come out in the morning to say my prayer, and next thing I know, all I heard was boom, boom, boom, boom," neighborhood resident Evelyn Talley said.
Talley has lived on Presstman Street for 30 years. She said she's thankful her granddaughter, a student at Carver, did not go to school on Friday.
"It was a nice neighborhood. Quiet. Peaceful. Everybody knew one another," Talley said, reflecting on the past. "We looked out for the older people. Now, it seems like nobody cares."
Investigators thought the shooting may have stemmed from a fight.
Baltimore City Schools asked families not to go to the school following the shooting. The families of the students who were injured received notifications in the wake of the gunfire.
All students are inside and the campus is secure, the school district said.
"No resident in any corner of our city should feel unsafe going to school in the morning," Baltimore City Council President Nick Mosby said in a statement. "No parent in our city should feel uneasy dropping their son or daughter off at the school doors. It's simply unacceptable, but that paralyzing fear is something too many residents in our city live with each day. We needed no reminder of that, but today brought all of those fears back to the surface."
Counseling will be available to the school's staff and students on Monday. Students will gather in an assembly for support, including counseling services, according to school officials.
Staff will assess which people need more counseling and that support will be provided to them for as long as they need it, school officials said. Family members have been alerted to the counseling services.
Editor's note: Police initially reported the victims' ages were 16, 16 and 17. Those ages have since been updated.
