Four Atlanta high school students were shot in a drive-by shooting that took place Wednesday afternoon.
Atlanta Public Schools said the shooting took place at Benjamin E. Mays High School, which is on the west side of Atlanta, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
A heavy police presence was at the school in response to the shooting. The incident happened at about 4 p.m., according to WXIA-TV.
🚨🇺🇸BREAKING: ATLANTA SCHOOL SHOOTING – 4 INJURED
Shots were fired from an “unknown vehicle” in the high school parking lot at Benjamin E. Mays High School.
The school is currently locked down.
Source: Atlanta News First pic.twitter.com/WA7eFl8ZLF
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) February 14, 2024
“Shortly after dismissal, shots were fired from an unknown vehicle, striking four students at Benjamin E. Mays High School lower campus parking lot,” the district said in a statement, according to WSB-TV.
“All victims were transported to the hospital and confirmed to have non-life-threatening injuries. No other students, faculty, or staff were injured. This matter continues to be under investigation,” the district said.
Now there’s a school shooting in Atlanta. So senseless!!!
— Alia (@MizzzAlia) February 14, 2024
All after-school activities have been canceled, according to WAGA-TV.
Classes at the school will be held Thursday as normal, according to the Journal-Constittuion.
#BREAKING: There has been another shooting incident at Benjamin Mays High School in Atlanta. There have been reports of four individuals sustaining gunshot wounds. pic.twitter.com/SbqMbF9pGc
— BrownEyeGirl🇺🇸 (@BrownEyeGirl_45) February 14, 2024
Overall, crime in Atlanta is up 10 percent this year, according to police crime statistics. Aggravated assaults are down 24 percent, police report.
On Tuesday, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum told the Atlanta City Council’s Public Safety Committee that in 2023, 3,197 guns were confiscated by police, according to WAGA-TV.
Of those, he said, 477 of the weapons were stolen.
He also noted that last year, Atlanta police arrested 140 gang members on 600 charges.
“We have been aggressively fighting the gangs in Fulton County and the region because they do engage in human trafficking, drug dealing, gun running and robberies throughout the area,” he said.
“We worked with our partners at the state and federal levels and regionally to go into certain areas where individuals were possessing guns and many times, they were in open conflict with each other,” he said.
As noted by ABC, Wednesday was the sixth anniversary of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting that killed 17 people.
