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GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office said a student is hospitalized and a suspect is in custody after a shooting at Tanglewood Middle School.
A school resource officer at Tanglewood Middle School requested emergency backup just before 12:30 p.m. when deputies said a student was shot. The student victim was transported to the hospital in unknown condition.
Just after 1:45 p.m., deputies said a person believed to be the shooter was in custody. Deputies said the suspect is a minor. He was detained in close proximity to the school. The sheriff’s office said deputies are not looking for any additional suspects.
All students from Tanglewood Middle School are being taken to Brookwood Church. Families can pick up their students at Brookwood Church, but they will need to provide identification to pick up their child.
The Greenville County School District released the following statement:
“At approximately 12:30 pm, Greenville County Schools had reports of shots fired inside the building at Tanglewood Middle School. The school resource officer immediately responded and notified law enforcement. Multiple law enforcement agencies have responded. One student has been transported to the hospital, and their condition is unknown at this time. All students will be transported at Brookwood Church at 580 Brookwood Point Place, Simpsonville, SC 29681, where parents will be reunited with their student. Parents will not be able to pick up their student at Tanglewood. Parents will need to have identification in order to pick up their student. We will share more information as soon as possible.”
-Greenville County Schools
Just before 2:30 p.m. Sherif Hobart Lewis held a press conference. He called the shooting an “absolute tragedy” and said deputies do not know what was going through the mind of the gunman at the time of the shooting.
Lewis said the school went into immediate lockdown after a gunshot was heard. The shooting occurred in the front part of the school. First responders rendered aid to the victim.
The sheriff’s office said over 100 deputies responded to the scene. The sheriff’s office helicopter was also seen over the scene.
Investigators are searching the school to make sure everyone is safely out of the building. Dr. Burke Royster, the superintendent of Greenville County Schools, said pickup at other Greenville County schools would be impacted since buses from other parts of the district are being used to transport Tanglewood Middle School students to the church for pickup.
“Our prayers for those affected by this tragedy - the victim, but all the students in that school, the families, anybody that was in some way impacted by this traumatic event,” Royster said. “We could not have had a better, a more rapid, a more professional or a more in accordance with a planned response by every agency and every entity that responded to this situation.”
FOX Carolina crews spoke to multiple concerned family members working to get in touch with their children at Tanglewood Middle School.
“They were trying to calm me,” said parent Nacy Trejo. “I was just crying. I was desperate. I wanted to hear from my son.”
Trejo said she believes metal detectors need to be placed at the school.
Bruce Wilson, the founder of Fighting Injustice Together, was at the scene because his niece is a student at Tanglewood Middle School.
“It’s difficult right now, especially a lot of parents are out here right now and they don’t know what’s going on,” Wilson said. “These types of shootings, you see this on television a lot, but when it happens at home and it happens to you, it’s difficult.”
This is a developing situation. Stay with FOX Carolina for updates on this story.
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