FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Two teenagers were in custody in the shooting of a 15-year-old fellow student who was wounded in the neck during a lunch period outside her North Carolina high school, and a sheriff said Monday the pair will be charged.
The two suspects and the victim attend Cape Fear High School in Fayetteville, Cumberland County Sheriff Earl “Moose” Butler said at a news conference. Both suspects were involved in the shooting and were being questioned, he said. The weapon, a .22 Daisy rifle, and shell casings have been recovered.
Catilyn Abercrombie was in stable condition after surgery at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center.
The sheriff said the two were apprehended with the help of surveillance video that showed them carrying the rifle inside the school. He said investigators don’t think Abercrombie was the intended target, but no motive has been established.
“Why did they shoot? I don’t know,” he said.
The high school and nearby Mac Williams Middle School were locked down for hours before students were allowed to go home.
Sheriff ’s office spokesman Debbie Tanna said there would be an increased number of deputies at the high school and middle school today.
A police officer assigned to the high school was standing near Abercrombie when she was shot about 1 p.m. and immediately called 911, Tanna said.
Students from the middle school were sent home before their high school counterparts, who were still gradually leaving the campus by 6 p.m.
Front Section, Pages 6 on 10/25/2011