Mount Tabor High student killed in school shooting, suspect in custody

A North Carolina high school student was shot and killed on Wednesday by a fellow student, who was taken into custody hours after the incident, police said.

William Chavis Raynard Miller Jr. was shot at Mount Tabor High School in Winston-Salem shortly after noon, Winston-Salem Police Chief Catrina Thompson told reporters.

Paramedics rushed Miller, whose age was not disclosed, to a hospital, where he later died, she said.

After a five-hour search, police said the suspect, a student whom they declined to identify, was taken into custody without incident.

The shooting in Winston-Salem, a city of 250,000 people, was the latest outbreak of gun violence that has become a regular occurrence at schools and college campuses across the United States over the past several years.

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Thompson gave no further details on the shooting or a motive but said the investigation was ongoing.

As the incident unfolded, other schools in the area were put on lockdown while dozens of police officers, paramedics and panicked parents raced to Mount Tabor High School.

“It’s a punch in your stomach and takes your breath away not knowing if your children are safe,” Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill told reporters.

Terrified students at the school of 1,500 hid under desks. At least one student suffered from a seizure, Thompson said.

Police and school officials were working into the evening to reunite parents with students, and grief counselors were meeting with families at the reunification center.

The incident was the second school shooting this week in North Carolina. On Monday, a student suffered non-life-threatening injuries when another student opened fire at him at New Hanover High School in Wilmington, local media reported. The suspect faces four charges including attempted first-degree murder.

National PTA President Anna King and North Carolina PTA President Francelia Burwell called on lawmakers to address gun violence.

“Parents should not have to fear for the safety of their children due to senseless gun violence,” they said.

(Reporting by Colleen Jenkins in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Peter Cooney)