Five high school students were shot outside a shopping center in Baltimore, Maryland (Pictures: AP)
A high school student was killed and four other boys were injured in a shooting at a shopping center in southwest Baltimore, police said.
Cops responded to the Edmondson Village shopping center parking lot around 11.15am on Wednesday and found five boys on the ground with gunshot wounds, said Police Commissioner Michael Harrison.
All five victims were transported to hospitals and one of them died, Harrison said. The other four boys sustained non-life-threatening wounds.
‘The officer began to render medical attention and life-saving measures to multiple victims, called for assistance,’ said Harrison. ‘School police were very quick to arrive on the scene (and) also began to render life-saving measures and First Aid to the five victims.’
Evidence markers are visible near a bullet casing, a belt and a bloody shirt at the site of a shooting near Edmondson Westside High School (Picture: AP)
The victim who died was 16 years old, WBAL reported. Two of the injured boys were 17 years old and the other two were 18.
Police believe the victims were Edmondson Westside High School students on their lunch break. The school is across the street from the shopping center. The boys were in front of a Popeye’s restaurant and Rita’s Italian Ice when two gunman fired at them and fled, Harrison said.
‘What we believe is that two shooters began to open fire at the other individuals who were all together in front of the mall,’ said Harrison.
There were no descriptions of the suspects immediately after the shooting.
‘We’re looking for witnesses,’ Harrison said. ‘We are looking for anything that would tell us how this happened, why this happened and who’s responsible for it.’
The school district tweeted: ‘Today, we learned five students were injured after being shot in a shopping center across the street from Edmondson Westside High School.
‘Sadly, one of the students has passed away. Our campus remains safe. The school is in lockdown status while the police investigation occurs.’
Anyone with information is urged to contact police or Crime Stoppers.
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