Pine Bluff High School went on lockdown Monday afternoon after a shooting took place in the vicinity of 12th Avenue near the school's McGeorge Building parking lot, the Pine Bluff School District said in a statement Monday afternoon.
Both the school district and police said no students or staff members were injured. Police Lt. David DeFoor said in a news release that a juvenile was detained for questioning.
Police received a call about the shooting at 2:47 p.m., according to radio communications. A police officer working off-duty at the school advised there were gunshots at the school coming from either in or near the parking lot to the south of the McGeorge Building, located on the southern edge of campus.
DeFoor said there were no shell casings found on the campus.
Parents were not allowed to check out students during the lockdown. Police reported the scene clear at 3:29 p.m., and school was dismissed at its usual 3:47 p.m. time.
After-school events went on as scheduled, according to the district.
PBSD spokeswoman Kimberley West said the district would work with local law enforcement agencies to provide additional support to the school today.
Security on and off campus has been a major topic of concern in recent weeks. Pine Bluff High students frustrated with the violence staged a walkout from class to Jordan Stadium on March 31, three days after fellow student Tristian Harris, 17, was found shot to death in an apartment complex on Elm Street.
Harris is the seventh person aged 18 or younger to be killed in an act of violence within Pine Bluff city limits since last year.
The PBSD hires officers still commissioned by local police to provide security full-time and adds some officers for part-time work, police Chief Lloyd Franklin Sr. said in a Sunday article of The Pine Bluff Commercial. The officers who work for the district full-time also do part-time work with Pine Bluff police to keep their commission, Franklin said.
Go Forward Pine Bluff CEO Ryan Watley addressed Arkansas Department of Education Commissioner Johnny Key in an open letter dated April 3 criticizing state and district leaders for suggesting relocating Pine Bluff High to another part of the city out of concerns over violence that has occurred within the school's neighborhood. The ADE directly supervises the Pine Bluff School District.
Key responded by saying while it is Superintendent Barbara Warren's responsibility to evaluate the needs of each school and develop ideas for addressing them, she is not responsible for fixing the underlying problem of violence.