One student was injured and a person of interested was detained following a at Baker High School โ the second incident involving gunfire there this week.ฬ
During a press conference, Baker Police Chief Carl Dunn said there were multiple people involved in the shooting, though the exact number was not known.ฬ
"All of the suspects and the victim were known to us and each other," Dunn said.ฬ
The shooting happened behind the band room at 10:15 a.m. The student, who was attending summer school, was leaving the campus when he was hit by shots fired from across the street, authorities said.
The student was transported to a local hospital in stable condition.
Dunn said he heard at least seven shots being fired.
Wednesday's shooting came two days after reports of gunfire just outside the Baker High stadium during football practice early Monday morning. A person of interest was detained in relation to the shooting, but they were later released. Officials declined to speak further about the Monday incident, noting that it is an open investigation.
Capt. Randolph Harrell, the resource officer at Baker High, said he was not on campus at the time of Wednesday's shooting. Harrell said he was investigating Monday's shooting, to make sure nothing retaliatory would happen to the football team. The football team was practicing off campus.
Harrell noted that even if he was on campus Wednesday, he would have been inside the school and not near the shooting.ฬฬ
Preston Castille Jr., president and CEO of Helix Community Schools, the charter group that runs Baker High, said the shooting Wednesday was a result of "activities off of campus spilling onto our campus".
Castille said that when summer classes resume, they will be held virtually. The school went virtual after Mondayโs shooting, but classes resumed in person because officials thought the situation was resolved, Castille said.
"It's disheartening and disappointing," he said. "It's deeply troubling."
Along with the summer school classes, members of the football and basketball team, along with cheerleaders were practicing on campus, Castille said.
Castille noted the high school is just across the street from the Baker Police Department.ฬ
Baker Mayor Darnell Waites said police are doing everything they could to curb teen violence.
"Don't be afraid, move forward," he said.
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