Teen shot at Atlanta school; student held

Larry Copeland, USA TODAY | USATODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Tutor says gang violence plagues Atlanta school A tutor says gang violence is an ongoing problem at the Atlanta school where a student was shot in the back of the neck.

Student%2C 14%2C taken to hospital

Another student is in custody

Armed officer subdued shooter

ATLANTA — A 14-year-old student was shot at an Atlanta middle school Thursday afternoon, and another student was taken into custody, police said.

An armed guard disarmed the shooter moments after the 1:50 p.m. shooting in a courtyard at the Price Middle School in southeast Atlanta.

The teen was shot in the back of the head, but the wound was apparently not life-threatening, authorities said.

Atlanta Public Schools public information officer Steve Alford said the teen's wound was more toward the back of the neck, WXIA-TV reported.

Atlanta schools Superintendent Erroll Davis said at a late-afternoon news conference that the youth's family had reported that he was "conscious and talking" at Grady Memorial Hospital. the hospital said he was discharged Thursday night.

An armed off-duty Atlanta police officer who works at the school subdued the shooter and had him drop his weapon, Police Chief George Turner said.

Several shots were fired, Turner added. He did not identify the gun.

Turner said the two students apparently knew each other, but he did not discuss a motive for the attack.

Police spokesman Carlos Campos said later that the shooting stemmed from an unspecified previous disagreement. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said.

The identities of the victim and the suspect will not be released because they are juveniles.

Campos also said a teacher suffered a minor injury "while running."

The school was locked down for almost three hours, and worried parents who rushed to the school were told by a school official that all other students were safe. Nearby Carver High School and Slater Elementary School were also locked down.

At 4:50 p.m., students began boarding buses that were escorted by police to nearby parking lots, where they were reunited with their parents.

WXIA has a photo gallery.

Laquanda Pittman said she immediately went to the school, where her son is in the sixth grade.

"All types of stuff went through my head. I'm wondering whether it was my child who got shot, is my child OK, did he see what happened?" she told the Associated Press.

Mayor Kasim Reed condemned gun violence after the shooting and said counselors were at the school to meet with students, faculty and family members.

"Gun violence in and around our schools is simply unconscionable and must end," Reed said in a statement. "Too many young people are being harmed, and too many families are suffering from unimaginable and unnecessary grief."

Contributing: Michael Winter