Police: Student arrested in shooting death of fellow student outside Pittsburgh school

PITTSBURGH– A student was taken into custody in the shooting death of a fellow student early Wednesday just outside a Pittsburgh school shortly before classes started, police said.

Police said the shooting happened just before 7.30am outside the steps of Oliver Citywide Academy. Officers found the victim with gunshot wounds outside the school and administered first aid, Major Crimes Commander Richard Ford told reporters at the scene.

An officer saw another student running from school with a gun. The student was arrested and police recovered a firearm, Ford said. The victim was taken to hospital in critical condition and later died, he said. No other injuries were reported.

Ford said the students were minors, but did not specify their ages or release their names. According to the city’s school district website, Oliver Citywide Academy is a full-time special education center serving students in grades 3 through 12. It was not immediately clear what prompted the shooting.

Most students were still on their way to school when the shooting happened, and buses were being redirected to another school building, according to city spokeswoman Maria Montano. Students who were already in school were kept in the building and classes were canceled for the day.

“We believe, based on the information we have and the video we have been able to see, that we have the actor in custody and that there is no potential threat to other schools,” he said. said Ford.

The shooting came just over a year after another student was shot dead at the same school. Marquis Campbell, 15, was killed in January 2022 while sitting in a school van waiting to drive home. The alleged shooters – two brothers Campbell knew from another school – were charged earlier this year with murder and conspiracy.

The shooting also took place exactly one year after 19 students and two teachers were shot dead at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.