Valley News Live – KVLY/KXJB – Fargo/Grand Forks
A depressed North Dakota freshman walked in front of his class, made an apology and then shot himself with a handgun on Thursday morning.
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According to Richland County authorities, the injured boy, whose name has not been released, was coherent when he was taken to a hospital, said Principal Jay Townsend of Fairmont Public School, which has 112 students from kindergarten through 12th grade.
As reported by CNN:
Authorities don’t know what the apology was about, Sheriff Larry Leshovsky said. The student wasn’t in any kind of trouble that the principal was aware of.
The freshman, whose name wasn’t being released, has lived in the small, rural community of 380 residents his entire life and has spent all educational years at Fairmont School, Mayor Jon Nelk said.
The student was transferred to a hospital in Fargo, but the mayor had no further details.
The student’s grandparents grew up in the Fairmont area and his parents have lived in town their entire lives, Nelk said.
“As far as I know, he’s a well-behaved, good kid,” the mayor said. “We’re a rural area, but guns are not commonplace.”
The shooting was “an isolated incident” for the town, Nelk said.
“I’m sure when we sit down this evening and start playing it back, we’ll try to figure out what could have possibly happened and why this happened,”
Nelk said. “It’s a very tight community.
A teacher provided first-aid to the boy, and the school went into lockdown shortly after the 8:40 a.m. shooting, Townsend said.
An alert system called all parents, and school was canceled for the day, Townsend said.
School has resumed today and counselors will be on hand to support any students who need help.
SOURCE: CNN
