3 injured in shooting near high school in Portland, Oregon

3 injured in shooting near high school in Portland, Oregon

An unidentified suspect shot three people just outside of Rosemary Anderson High School in Portland on Friday.

Three people were shot near a high school in Portland, Ore. on Friday afternoon, according to the Associated Press. Portland police Sgt. Pete Simpson said that one female and two males were shot near the Rosemary Anderson High School campus. Despite their injuries, the victims ran inside one of the school buildings on campus for help after being shot. The Oregonian reported that one of the victims was a 17-year-old who was shot from the back and another was a female student who was shot in her ankle. The shooting was reported shortly after noon.

Initial reports stated that the victims were shot inside the building, but they were actually shot just outside on Killingsworth Court, according to KOIN 6. The police said that the victims were breathing and conscious when they were transported to Legacy Emanuel hospital. The victims are being treated, but there are no updates on their conditions.

The shooter apparently fled the scene, police said, and there were no immediate arrests.  The AP said that the potential suspect did not enter the school at all, and the scene was secured.  Sgt. Simpson told the LA Times that the shooter did not seem to be “active,” or he did not seem to be “running around shooting people.” Police said that preliminary information suggests that the shooting could possibly be gang-related and they are still searching for the shooter or shooters.

Jacal Hill, a 17-year-old senior at Rosemary Anderson, said that she was among many other students waiting for the school to unlock the doors for lunch. She had just walked around the street corner when she heard gunshots behind her and she hid behind a car, according to The Oregonian. Several other witnesses heard the shooting and saw the victims being helped inside. Sierra Smith, 17, said she was in history class when the shooting happened. She saw a teacher helping a victim as blood ran from his stomach.

Two nearby schools, Portland Community College and Jefferson High School, were put on lockdown following the news of the shooting, according to KPTV. Former Portland police chief and head of security at Portland Community College Derrick Foxworth said that the school was on lockdown from 12:24 to 1:29 p.m. and classes resumed. Locking down the school was done as a precautionary act. Parents were summoned to the school.

Rosemary Anderson High School’s website states that they are a community-based alternative school. The school serves “disadvantaged youth” and those “most at-risk” in a challenging learning environment that focuses on positive reinforcement, according to Portland Public School District website. AP described the school as one that serves students who dropped out or who were expelled. Approximately 190 students attend the school annually.

This is not the first school shooting near Portland this year. A freshman student died following a shooting at Reynolds High School east of Portland in June.  On June 10, Jared Padgett, 15, opened fire after getting to his high school heavily armed. He killed 14-year-old Emilio Hoffman in the boy’s locker room.  Another bullet skimmed the school’s physical education teacher Todd Rispler. Padgett died from a self-inflicted gunshot in the bathroom, police said, after officers confronted him about the shooting.

 

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