'Altercation' among students sparked shooting that left 1 dead, 1 injured at Minnesota school
Two students were in custody Wednesday and police in the suburban Minneapolis town of Richfield released more details on a shooting at an alternative school that left one student dead, one critically wounded and a community in shock and mourning.
Police Chief Jay Henthorne said formal charges against Fernando Valdez-Alvarez, 18, and Alfredo Rosario Solis, 19, could be filed Thursday. The tragedy outside South Education Center stemmed from an undisclosed disagreement involving five students, Henthorne said.
Family and friends identified the student killed to local media outlets as Jahmari Rice, 15, who had just transferred into the school. Henthorne said no other suspects were being sought and that the community was safe.
"The shooting was not random," Henthorne said at a news conference Wednesday. "The five students did know each other. An altercation, possibly related to a previous dispute, took place."
The victims were shot and the suspects immediately fled shortly after noon Tuesday, Henthorne said. About six hours later, police executed search warrants at two homes, arresting the suspects and seizing a handgun.
Later, five more search warrants were issued and another gun found, he said. Ballistic tests would determine whether either gun was used in the shooting.
Some officers apparently responded to the wrong school in the chaotic moments after the shooting, according to Richfield Middle School Principal Erica Barlow. In a Facebook post, Barlow said police and emergency medical support personnel accidentally rushed to her school, then quickly left after realizing their mistake.
Barlow wrote that students were in class at the time, and it was "unlikely" that many witnessed the event.
"The officers had weapons drawn and were in bulletproof vests," Barlow wrote. "It is important that you are aware of the incident in the event that your child hears about it, as some children may be deeply impacted by this type of news."
1 STUDENT KILLED, 1 INJURED: Shooting outside Minnesota school
South Education Center serves several school districts, providing students from pre-K until the age of 21 with "unique needs in a variety of programs," the school's website says.
Superintendent Sandra Lewandowski said Wednesday that the school will reopen Friday with "robust mental health support."
"I am devastated," she said. "We are all devastated."
Friends and classmates gathered Tuesday night at an impromptu memorial of flowers, balloons and candles. Damik Bryant, a friend of Jahmari Rice's family, is the brother of Daunte Wright, whose fatal shooting by former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter last April fueled protests around the nation.
"I know how it feels to lose somebody,” Bryant told WCCO-TV. “We’re going to stand here in solidarity with the family.”
“I’m just shocked and heartbroken this happened, especially a close friend of mine,” classmate Malcolm Peterson told KSTP-TV.
Contributing: The Associated Press
USA TODAY OPINION: We've taught kids to fear school shootings. But lost sight of how uncommon they are.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Altercation among students led to Minnesota school shooting
