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Police: Student fatally shot by another student outside Pittsburgh school

Authorities say a student shot and killed another student outside a school in Pittsburgh shortly before classes were due to start

Via AP news wire
Wednesday 24 May 2023 16:08 BST

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A student shot and killed another student early Wednesday outside a school in Pittsburgh, authorities said. The alleged shooter was soon captured after a foot chase.

The ages of the students involved were not immediately clear. According to the city school district’s website, Oliver Citywide Academy is a full-time special education center serving grades 3-12.

It wasn't immediately clear what spurred the shooting, which The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said happened around 7:25 a.m. on the steps outside of the school. No other injuries were reported, and police said they found a gun at the scene.

The names of the victim and the shooter have not been released, but police said both attended the school and were under the age of 18. Authorities said the wounded student was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

“We believe, based on the information that we have and the video we’ve been able to see, that we have the actor in custody and there’s no potential threat to the other schools,” Pittsburgh Major Crimes Commander Richard Ford said during a news conference at the school. He said the victim was killed as he was walking into the school.

It wasn't immediately clear how many students and staff witnessed the shooting. Maria Montano, a city spokeswoman, said most students were still on their way to the school when the shooting happened, and buses were rerouted to another school building.

Students who were already in the school were kept in the building. Classes there were canceled for the day following the shooting.

The shooting came a little more than a year after another student was gunned down at the school. Fifteen-year-old Marquis Campbell was killed in January 2022 as he sat in a school van waiting to go home. The alleged shooters — two brothers who Campbell knew from another school — were charged earlier this year with murder and conspiracy.

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