Student injured in North Carolina high school shooting, suspect on the loose.
Student injured in North Carolina high school shooting, suspect on the loose.

By Louis Casiano

Father says his son will “remember this forever”

A gunman injured one student on Wednesday during a shooting at a North Carolina high school and a suspect is still on the loose, authorities said.

The shooting occurred at Mount Tabor High School in Winston-Salem, the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office tweeted. All other students are safe and were being taken to the Harris Teeter grocery store where they can be reunited with their parents, police said.

The sheriff’s office named a local YMCA site earlier. The Winston-Salem Police Department said there was a disturbance at the Harris Teeter site but a possible second shooting had not been confirmed.

The injured student was taken to a hospital. Their injuries were not disclosed. 

“We and the WSPD have secured the campus and are doing everything possible to keep students safe,” the sheriff’s office said. “We are actively investigating what happened and will share confirmed information as appropriate.”

Authorities were still searching for a suspect.

The high school and other schools in the area have been placed on lockdown out of an abundance of caution but no other incidents were reported, the Winston-Salem Police Department said. 

“We are actively seeking the suspect,” the department said. “We have no confirmed information of any other shootings or injuries.”

Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) office in Charlotte also responded to the scene. 

A couple told Fox affiliate WGHTV that their daughter was at the school at the time of the shooting but that they have gotten in contact with her and she is safe. 

“Your heart stops for a few minutes until you finally get in touch with them,” the father said. 

Christopher Johnson said that his son told him that he heard the gunshots while in the school gym and students were told to hide because there was an active shooter on campus.

“You see stuff like this in the media,” Johnson, whose son was still at the school awaiting transportation to a pickup point, told the Associated Press. “It’s scary to know that it actually reached out and touched you this time. My son’s not a victim, but he’s part of this and he’ll probably remember this forever.”

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, said he has been briefed about the shooting.

“For the second time this week, we have seen a shooting in a North Carolina school,” he said in a statement. “Our prayers are with the victims, their families and all the students of Mt. Tabor High School in Winston-Salem.”

“We must work to ensure the safety of students and educators, quickly apprehend the shooter and keep guns off school grounds,” he added. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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