UPDATE: Parents concerned after tragedy

DOWAGIAC, MI -- A Dowagiac teen who shot himself in a woods near Dowagiac Middle School Monday morning has died.



There will be extra police presence at Dowagiac Middle School Tuesday after a teenager shot himself near the school Monday.

Public Safety Director Tom Atkinson identified the boy as 13-year-old Darren James Price at a news conference Monday afternoon.

A school custodian spotted Price with a handgun on school grounds about 6:40 a.m., Atkinson said. He notified the principal, who tried to make contact with the teen.

When Price ran into a woods near the building, the principal called police. Officers set up a perimeter around the area. Soon after that, a single gunshot was heard and the teen was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Atkinson said.

Dowagiac Public Safety Director Tom Atkinson addresses the media at a press conference after a teenager shot and killed himself near Dowagiac Middle School Monday.

Price was taken to Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital in Dowagiac where he died, Atkinson said.

Atkinson said it appears Price was "acting alone." He said the investigation is ongoing, and police are unsure if Price had plans to hurt anyone else at the school.

"We may never know why this happened," Atkinson said.

Students were on the way to school at the time of the incident but buses were diverted and students walking were turned away from the buildings.

Superintendent Mark Daniel said Price was a 6th grader at Dowagiac Middle School last year but was home-schooled this year. He didn't have any major disciplinary history at Dowagiac schools, Daniel said.

Classes at all six Dowagiac schools have been canceled for the remainder of the day Monday. Classes will resume Tuesday with the schools in lockdown mode with extra police officers at the buildings, Daniel said.

The lockdown is only "precautionary," he said.

"This is for the comfort and safety of our students and parents," Daniel said. "We'll have extra counselors from neighboring districts available."

Aaron Mueller is a public safety reporter for the Kalamazoo Gazette. Contact him at amuelle1@mlive.com or 269-568-3867. Follow him on Twitter.