Police report says Memphis school shooting followed fight between teen victim and suspect

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - A Memphis school shooting began with a fight between the teen suspect and victim, according to a police report.

The document sheds new light on the shooting Thursday morning at Cummings K-8 Optional School.

The first officer arrived at the school at 9:18 a.m. for an aggravated assault, according to the report. The assistant principal told the officer the teen suspect said he wanted to fight the victim. The two 13-year-olds met in a back hallway to fight, then staff heard a pop that sounded like a gunshot.

A probable cause affidavit says the suspect and victim had been fighting for a few days. On the day of the shooting, a camera caught the suspect going under stairwell and pulling out the gun and shooting the victim in the stomach.

According to the report, staff saw the teen suspect run to the rear of the school hallway and disappear.

On Thursday, Assistant Police Chief Don Crowe said the teen left the school in a vehicle driven by his mother, who took him to the police station.

The report says paramedics arrived to find the victim in a classroom with a gunshot wound to the stomach. They took him to the hospital in critical condition.

Additional officers arrived at the school while detectives went to the hospital. Several students who witnessed the shooting were taken in for questioning, according to the report.

The report says the suspect was arrested and taken to juvenile court.

On Thursday, Crowe said the teen suspect surrendered at a police station.

The teen suspect was due in court Friday. Authorities said he’s being charged with attempted first-degree murder, carrying a firearm on school property and employment of firearms during a dangerous felony.

The teen victim is expected to recover following surgery Thursday, according to school leaders and police.

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