STATEN ISLAND: A 14-year-old Tottenville High School freshman was shot in the ankle outside the school building Tuesday afternoon, a law-enforcement source said.
The victim was transported to Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze and is expected to survive, the source said.
Police are searching for two suspects who wore ski masks during the incident and fled the scene on foot.
A photo circulating on social media appeared to show the boy laying in a brush area across the street from the school with blood on his right ankle as two NYPD officers hovered over him.
A student who knew the victim said the 14-year-old is a “sweet kid” and felt the bullet was not meant for the child. “I don’t think it was intended for him. I think it was someone next to him. He never did anything.”
Tottenville High School went into a shelter-in-place following the incident, which occurred at 1:57 p.m, a source said. Multiple nearby schools also initiated restrictive measures after the shooting.
Students who spoke to the Advance/SILive.com said that the incident occurred while they were walking to class in between periods.
Students said they then heard sirens before noticing cops arrived to the scene. Then, group chats began to flood with messages.
“They said we have to shelter-in,” one student said of the school’s faculty. “They just got on the loudspeaker and said it was not a drill,” said another student.
An employee at the school called the incident “upsetting,” adding, “They should do something about crime, really.”
After the school’s restrictive measures were lifted, students were seen streaming out of the building — reuniting with parents, some of whom were crying, who rushed to the scene to pick up their children. One parent who spoke to the Advance/SILive.com displayed discontent at a lack of real-time communication during the incident.
Police vehicles lined the street outside the school, closing off traffic on nearby streets as the NYPD’s investigation continued. Traffic on Amboy Road was jammed heading toward the school on Luten Avenue.
“My son called me from inside the school, saying there was [a shooter] outside the school. He went back in, and the school went on lockdown,” said parent Joseph Rizzo, who first heard from his son at about 2:05 p.m. “I came to pick him up, and they had everything closed down…they were saying it was kid-on-kid.”
More than an hour after the shooting, some concerned adults remained lined up a block away from the school, standing behind police tape.
The NYPD is actively searching for the perpetrators, a source said.
“Tottenville High School went into a brief shelter-in today in response to a nearby, off-campus incident,” said Jenna Lyle, a city Department of Education spokeswoman. “While no part of this incident took place on school property, we are working closely with the NYPD on their investigation and will be providing additional supports and security to this school.”
“Student safety is our top priority, and our students deserve to feel safe in their communities at all times,” added Lyle. “There is also strong mental-health support at all New York City public schools for students who need it, by way of school-based social workers, guidance counselors, and on site mental health clinics.”
By Joseph Ostapiuk | [email protected], Shaina McLawrence | [email protected], Shane DiMaio | [email protected], Jillian Delaney | [email protected] [SILIVE]
