Police: Heritage High shooting suspect was 15-year-old student, family member took him to authorities

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — The Heritage High School shooting suspect is a 15-year-old male who was enrolled at the school, police say.

Police have not identified the teen, but said he was taken to the city’s juvenile services by a family member at 2:23 p.m. after fleeing the school. He was then interviewed at police headquarters before being charged.

He’s been charged with two counts of aggravated malicious wounding and two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, as well as underage possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm on school property, discharging firearm on school property, discharge firearm in occupied building, reckless handling of a firearm and carrying concealed weapon.

In a press release Tuesday, police didn’t release many other details that weren’t already known. They did say that a school resource officer was assigned to the school and was there on Monday.

The shooting happened around 11:30 a.m. and led to the evacuation of the school. The two 17-year-old victims, a boy and girl, were shot in the side of the head and lower leg, respectively. Both of their injuries were considered non life-threatening and police said the victims knew the shooter. The shootings were not believed to have been random.

“It is by the grace of God there was no loss of life,” said Police Chief Steve Drew in a statement. “We know this will be difficult to process for everyone involved and hope students, families, and faculty members take advantage of the resources that have been made available to help them cope with what happened yesterday at Heritage High School.”

There will be a vigil at the high school on Tuesday night and counseling services are being offered for students and staff. The shooting has sparked conversations about school safety, including the use of metal detectors. The Newport News School Board will have a special meeting in October to talk about safety at all local schools.

Mayor McKinley Price issued a statement Tuesday on the shooting.

Look for continuing coverage of the shooting at Heritage High from WAVY.