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UPDATE (WKOW) — Authorities say innocent bystanders were put at risk when a dispute between teenagers in a neighborhood near a Madison school escalated to gun fire.

Madison Police spokesperson Joel DeSpain says a 16-year-old victim was wounded in the shooting on Turner Avenue at Linda Vista Drive, but only required brief hospitalization. Madison School District officials say the boy is a student at nearby La Follette High School. Police continue to seek the teenage shooting suspect.

Bonnie Langrehr lives on Turner Avenue and heard up to a half dozen gunshots ring out.

“I’m laying flat on my living room floor as bullets are flying,” Langrehr tells 27 News.

DeSpain says an SUV was driving on the street at the time the gun violence broke out. He says a bullet pierced the passenger side window and traveled through the car’s interior. DeSpain says had there been a passenger in the SUV, this situation could have changed drastically.

“It could have been a homicide,” he says.

For some residents of this east side neighborhood, the shooting represents a stunning continuation of teenage troublemaking on their streets.

“Every day, I see them smoking pot, doing all sorts of different things,” says Kenneth Bent.

Bent says students from La Follette use a short cut from the school to enter the neighborhood during day time hours and engage in risky behavior.

Langrehr says she’s seen groups of as many as 30 teenagers gather regularly in the neighborhood during school hours and carry out what she calls a “fight club,” where teens try to pummel each other with punches. Langrehr considers the shooting an instance of the fight club turning potentially deadly.

“They do fight club and get in trouble and try to hurt another,” she says.

Langrehr praises Madison police for increasing patrols in the neighborhood. But she says the shooting demonstrates a need to develop additional strategies to discourage teenagers from choosing these streets to stage their dangerous activities.

DeSpain says he’s unaware of the neighborhood having an exorbitant number of police calls. And he says there are sadly teenagers across the city who arm themselves and open fire with impunity to settle scores.

“Until we can stop that mentality, we have risk to our communities,” DeSpain says.

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UPDATE (WKOW) — The victim in Wednesday’s shooting was a La Follette High School student.

Madison Metropolitan School District Superintendent Jennifer Cheatham confirmed that to 27 News. A suspect has not been arrested yet.

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UPDATE (WKOW) — The Madison Metropolitan School District says it’s been given the all clear from police and two schools are continuing with their normal day.

Students were being held inside La Follette High School and Sennett Middle School much of Wednesday morning because of a shooting at Linda Vista Road and Turner Avenue.

This letter went out to parents Wednesday afternoon:

Dear Families, Thank you for your support and communication today. To keep you updated, we had lunch for all students inside the building today. Everyone had access to lunch, and students did an excellent job following directions and protocols. We have now received an all clear from police to lift our safety precautions, and we are continuing with our normal school day. In working with police, we know that there has not been a direct threat at our school today, but we took precautions to keep our building secure as police investigated. The safest place to be is in school, which is why we are encouraging students to remain until the end of fourth block where we will have additional supervision for our regular dismissal. All after school programs/activities will continue as planned. Again, I want to reiterate that our school is safe and we’ll be continuing our normal school day.

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UPDATE (WKOW) — A teen was injured and a passing vehicle was hit by gunfire today in a shooting in a neighborhood not far from La Follette High School.

Students were kept inside La Follette and Sennett Middle school for a time late Wednesday morning as officers investigated.

Callers to 911 reported a fight between several young men at the corner of Linda Vista Road and Turner Avenue around 10:40 a.m. A gun was fired and the wounded a 16-year-old boy who was found walking in the area, according to police.

The teen was treated an released from a local hospital.

An SUV, not part of the incident, was passing through the area and hit by one gunshot on the passenger side.

If someone had been in that passenger seat, we could be investigating a homicide, Madison Police Spokesperson Joel Despain said.

Despain said there have been occasions where students from nearby schools have met in the area and have been engaged in fighting.

A neighbor described them as a “fight clubs” where groups of young people in groups as large as 30 show up to fight.

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UPDATE (WKOW) — La Follette High School has posted an update on its Facebook page, saying the shooting happened north of the school.

Dear La Follette Staff and Families, We are writing to let you know that we received reports of a shooting in the community north of our school. There is no threat to our school at this time, but as a precaution, we are holding students inside the building. Again, please know that our school building is safe and we are taking these actions as precautions. Student safety is our top priority, and we are quick to respond and take safety precautions. We will update you with more information through the day as it becomes available. Sincerely, Sean Storch Principal

In addition to La Follette, Sennett Middle School is also holding students inside, according to administrators.

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MADISON (WKOW) — The Madison Fire Department has confirmed they are responding to a report of a gunshot victim near La Follette High School.

Madison police say there was a report of a fight at Turner Avenue near Linda Vista where a gunshot was reported.

27 News has a crew on the way. Check back for new information as it becomes available.