PINE BLUFF, ARKANSAS – A 15-year-old boy was shot and critically wounded by a fellow student on the first day of their return to Watson Chapel Junior High School for on-site learning, according to Pine Bluff police. The shooting, in which police believe the wounded teen was targeted, occurred around 10:00 a.m. in the community located about 45 miles south of Little Rock.
The teen was the only person injured. Monday afternoon police initially, and incorrectly, reported that he had died from his wounds. Later in the day, they issued a correction, saying that he was not killed, but is hospitalized in very serious condition at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock. He was transferred there from the Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Pine Bluff, where he was initially treated for his injuries.
Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to assist the PBPD in the aftermath of the incident, and the suspect, another 15-year-old boy, was found by a K-9 team with the Arkansas Department of Corrections hiding behind a house near the school. He is currently being held in custody at the Juvenile Justice Center and is awaiting charges
Pine Bluff Police Chief Kelvin Sergeant said that a motive is not yet known, nor is it known how, or if, the two students knew each other. Chief Sergeant did say that he was “fairly confident” that the shooting “was not random and was targeted.” The names of the two minors have not been released.
According to Chief Sergeant, the school did follow the active shooter protocol. In a Facebook post following the incident, the school system said that all other students were safe, and schools were being locked down. They also referred to the shooting as an “isolated incident.”
