PINE BLUFF -- A student was seriously wounded Monday morning in a shooting at Watson Chapel Junior High School and the suspect, another student attending the school, was taken into custody, authorities said.
Pine Bluff Police Chief Kelvin Sergeant said during a news conference Monday afternoon that both the victim and the suspect are 15 years old.
After the victim was transported initially to Jefferson Regional Medical Center, he was transferred to Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock. Sergeant said Monday afternoon that the victim was in "very serious condition."
Officers responded to a reported shooting at the school just before 10 a.m., according to the police chief, and they arrived at the scene at 10:02. Officers found the victim inside the building with an apparent gunshot wound, Sergeant said.
Only one person was injured in the shooting, Sergeant said. The chief said authorities believe the shooting was "an isolated ... targeted incident, and not what we would call traditionally an active shooting."
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The school followed an active-shooter protocol, and officers worked to ensure the building was clear, he said. As officers cleared the classrooms, students were transferred to a gymnasium on campus.
Sergeant said that at the time when the shooting happened, students were changing classrooms. He said police did not know how many students were in the hallway at the time of the shooting, but other individuals were present.
The chief said there was no school resource officer on campus at the time of the shooting.
In a series of Facebook posts beginning around 10:30 a.m. Monday, the Watson Chapel School District said there had been an incident at the junior high school, adding that the incident had been "contained."
Campuses were placed on lockdown, and the Pine Bluff Police Department and Jefferson County sheriff's office were on-site to control the situation, the school district said in a post at 10:37 a.m.
The district began a supervised release of students to their parents around 11 a.m., according to a post on the district's Facebook page. Shortly after 6 p.m., the district announced on its Facebook page that today will be a virtual learning day for junior high students only.
The suspect, whom Sergeant described as a Black male, was found hiding behind a house in the area of Watson Chapel Junior High School. He was located by a dog team from the Arkansas Department of Corrections, according to Sergeant.
The suspect was being held Monday in the Jack Jones Juvenile Justice Center after being transported from the detective division of the Pine Bluff Police Department.
"We don't have a definite motive right now as to why the incident occurred," Sergeant said. "However, we do believe that this was a targeted incident as opposed to a random incident."
Sergeant said that to his knowledge, the suspect did not suffer injuries when he was apprehended after the dog team was used to track the suspect to the residence on a neighboring street.
Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Kyle Hunter told reporters that a decision about whether to hold a probable cause hearing in juvenile or adult court would be made in the next 36 to 48 hours.
Monday marked the first day of in-person learning for Watson Chapel students after an extended period of virtual instruction because of severe winter weather and related water issues in Pine Bluff.
Law enforcement personnel could be seen outside the junior high school around noon Monday as a long line of drivers waited in vehicles, presumably to pick up students.
After Sergeant's news conference, Pine Bluff police spokesman Lt. David DeFoor said in an email to reporters that the shooting victim had died from his injuries.
Multiple news organizations reported the update before DeFoor sent out a second email to reporters, approximately 45 minutes after the initial email, retracting the previous update that said the victim had died.
"The victim of the shooting at Watson Chapel Junior High School has not died," DeFoor wrote in the follow-up email. "Bad information was released. The hospital will keep us updated directly to prevent further erroneous [sic]."
DeFoor did not immediately respond to an email from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette asking about the source of the incorrect information.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson issued a statement after the first release, saying his "heart broke" when he learned the victim had died and adding that additional efforts must be made to ensure that children are safe at school.
Hutchinson followed up with another statement just after 5 p.m. after learning the previous report was inaccurate.
"We have been informed that the 15-year-old has not died and is in serious condition," Hutchinson said. "Our prayers remain with the family."