JOPPATOWNE, Md. — A 16-year-old Joppatowne High School student shot a classmate in a bathroom on campus Friday, Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler reported.
Calls about the shooting started coming in around 12:36 p.m., leading to concerns of an active shooter situation. However, Sheriff Gahler clarified that it was an isolated incident and not an active shooter event. The school was evacuated shortly afterward, according to reports from SkyTeam 11.
“It’s a tragic day, four days into the school year,” Gahler said during a news conference.
According to authorities, the 16-year-old suspect, who was attending his first day at Joppatowne High, shot a 15-year-old classmate in a bathroom. The sheriff stated that it is believed a single shot was fired, striking the victim. School nurses immediately attended to the injured student, who was later airlifted to a hospital in serious condition.
The suspect fled the scene but was apprehended within minutes at a nearby apartment complex, Gahler said. A weapon has not yet been recovered.
The school principal and the resource officer responded immediately upon hearing the commotion, according to the sheriff. The first outside deputy arrived at the school within two minutes, and within 15 minutes, over 100 officers from various agencies, including Baltimore County, the Maryland Transportation Authority, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, were on-site.
“The system worked, and it worked in this instance,” Gahler said.
