17-year-old suffers 'life-threatening injuries' after being shot at school bus stop: Police
The bus driver's quick thinking likely saved the boy's life, authorities said.
A high school student in Florida was shot on his way to the bus stop Wednesday morning and was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office officials said.
The 17-year-old boy was walking towards the bus stop around 6:15 a.m. when a black vehicle approached and opened fire on him, hitting him once, sheriff's department officials said during a press conference Wednesday.
The student was able to get on the bus and the bus driver brought him to a local hospital, sheriff's department officials wrote on Twitter. Authorities said the driver's quick thinking was "very" important and "likely saved his life."
The shooter is still at large and police said they are not aware if the student was able to give a description of the suspect.
School police and the sheriff's office are investigating, ABC affiliate WJXX in Jacksonville reported.
Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Diana Greene called the incident "gut-wrenching" in an interview with WJXX.
"It's not new to me that tragedy happens out into our communities and it is always very heartbreaking when it involves a young person," she said. "It's happening all too often and I don't want us to get to a point where we think this is normal."
Wednesday morning's shooting was the second time in less than a month that a student in the school district was shot. On August 24, one person was killed and two wounded in a triple shooting at a football game.
The other 21 students on the bus on Wednesday were also questioned by police, WJXX reported. During questioning, two of the students were "uncooperative" and one student tried to grab a police officer's Taser and was stunned by the officer, WJXX reported, citing Duval County School Board officials. The student who was stunned with the Taser was taken to the hospital, according to WJXX.
In the statement posted on Twitter, sheriff's department officials declined to comment further on the "secondary incident" on the bus and said it was not related to the shooting.
