On Tuesday afternoon, shocking and dreadful news came from Lincoln High School in Tacoma about a teenager being shot outside the school. The school officials stated that the school was still in session when several bullet shots were heard outside the school premises. A teenager got hit by the attack while other students outside the school were in a hurry to get to a safe place. Fortunately, the kid was just injured and didn’t suffer any major injuries due to the attack.
What Happened Outside Lincoln High School?
According to Tacoma Police, this incident happened right outside the school premises at around 3 pm on Tuesday. As per Sergeant John Correa, the teenager is anticipated to be shot around South 37th Street, from where he managed to run away. He reached Buddy’s Chicken on G Street when someone helped him in his condition.
Cody Stephens, a schooler, witnessed the incident closely and gave his statement to the police. He revealed that the shooters aimed only at two students and ran away from the site. He was also frustrated as he was a final-year student, and his farewell was a week away when such an incident happened.
It is not confirmed whether those involved in this incident are students or some gang members terrorizing the area. Moreover, Correa also has revealed that they have not found any leads in the case and have ordered to investigate the shooters through their CCTV footage.
The Tacoma Police’s Insights
In the words of the police, they had received a 911 phone call just before the departure. As per the reports, gunshots could be heard in the background during the call. Just after a few moments, they received another phone call, which talked about an underage victim who was seen with several wounds from gunshots, and had shown up at a nearby business. According to them, the phone call was made by a school staff member shortly after the knowledge of gunshots being fired at South 37th Street. It is also to be noted that the staff member who made the call did not witness any kind of gunshot himself, but he was given the knowledge of the same. Another 911 phone call was made by a person who claimed to have seen a teen bleeding near Buddy’s Chicken.
As for the students, they expressed their gratitude and pleasure that no one else was hurt, including their friends and family, while the graduation was scheduled for Wednesday. One of the many students, Osorio, says that witnessing something as wicked as this on the last day of school, precisely a day before graduation, was completely unexpected. Another student, Stephens, says that he expected more of a peaceful and serene ending of the year, though it turned out to be pretty crazy.
The Statement By Tacoma Public School
As per the school, shots were fired in front of Lincoln Public School at about 2:48 PM. They claim that immediately after the shots were heard, a phone call to 911 was made by the staff, and for security reasons, the school went into an absolute and immediate lockdown, where no one could access to move in or out of the building. Furthermore, they would be arranging a counsellor to assist students and the staff after the mishap, says the district. Any information about the person responsible for the act is demanded by the Tacoma Police, as he was still out on Tuesday night and had not yet been caught by the police.
Conclusion
The US has seen several shooting cases in recent days, which makes it a concerning matter. Many people have suffered injuries, and several fatalities have been reported, which shows the lack of security in the country. The case happened in front of a school, which makes it even more intriguing regarding the student’s safety and the absence of security. The police must upgrade their security system and strategies to find out about the criminals behind these incidents.
