Two children and an adult were shot and injured on Wednesday at an elementary school playground in Townville, South Carolina, by a 14-year-old who is suspected of having killed his own father before opening fire at the school. From Greenville Online:
As children were led outside for recess, the teenager rammed the truck into a chainlink fence surrounding the playground, stepped out and opened fire, authorities said.
A bullet struck student Jacob Hall in the leg and a second boy was shot in the foot. First-grade teacher Meghan Hollingsworth managed to herd the children to safety inside the building even as she was shot in the shoulder.
The shooter was subdued by a volunteer firefighter and is in custody. The boy who was shot in the leg has been hospitalized; the other two victims were treated and released.
Per the Gun Violence Archive, 490 children 11 or younger have been killed or injured by guns in the United States this year. Wednesday’s event is also at least the 197th incident in which a gun was fired on the grounds of a school or college campus since 2013.
