San Francisco high school ‘shaken’ after 4 students wounded by gunfire outside campus
Classes resumed at a San Francisco high school Wednesday, just one day after four students were wounded by gunfire outside the school, officials said.
Security was increased at June Jordan School for Equity and counselors were meeting with students and faculty, according to the San Francisco Unified School District.
“Though only four students were physically injured, this terrible incident has shaken everyone in the community, particularly the staff and students at June Jordan,” Myong Leigh, the district interim superintendent, said in a statement Wednesday. “Fortunately the school has a strong tradition of coming together daily to discuss challenging topics and to support one another.”
Gunfire erupted about 3:17 p.m. Tuesday outside of the campus when students were being dismissed, school officials and police said.
The shooter was accompanied by three other males, police said. Students ran from the parking lot as the shots rang out
Three 15-year-old male students and a 15-year-old female student were struck by gunfire, police said. They were taken to area hospitals. School officials said they were recovering from their injuries.
Responding officers thought initially that they had arrived at an active shooting scene, because they spotted the injured students inside the school, Officer Carlos Manfredi told reporters Tuesday.
Officers immediately began searching for the shooter, “thinking that suspect might still be in the school shooting,” he said.
The suspects had fled before police arrived, however.
School officials said the suspects were not students. They were targeting a student who attends June Jordan School for Equity “for reasons that are presently unclear,” according to the interim superintendent.
“I need to state emphatically that this isolated event, although awful, should not be viewed as a negative reflection on” the school, Leigh said.
The campus and its classes, he said, are intentionally kept small to motivate students to be independent thinkers and go to college.
“We deeply appreciate the educators and students at June Jordan School for Equity and will proudly stand by them through this disturbing, but temporary, challenge,” he said.
For breaking news in California, follow @VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter.
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