Shelby County Schools hosted active shooter drill just weeks before school shooting

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - A school shooting that put one child in the hospital and another in police custody is under investigation. Police say shots were fired Thursday morning at Cummings Elementary School.

Shelby County Schools Chief of Communications Jerica Phillips says SCS recently hosted an active shooter drill on September 2 to prepare for moments like this. She says the drill prepared teams to implement SCS’s emergency management plan immediately getting students and faculty to safety.

Police arrived at the scene, conducted two searches and moved students and faculty to a staging area. Students were bused to Metropolitan Church nearby, where parents were instructed to pick them up.

Phillips says SCS is working closely with Memphis police and the district’s safety security team to figure out how the shooting happened.

“We just certainly want to extend our thoughts and prayers with the students and the victim here at Cummings K-8,” said Phillips.

The victim is confirmed to be a 13-year-old student of Cummings K-8. Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital says the child was rushed there in critical condition.

Police report the suspect is also a student at the school but did not release his age. He reportedly turned himself in at the Memphis police precinct on East Raines Road, about seven miles away from the school.

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