Atlanta School Shooting Update: Gang dispute was behind gunfire that wounded teen, police say

By: Crimesider Staff
Topics: Daily Blotter

Telvis Douglas, 14, was the lone shooting victim in gunfire outside the Price Middle School in Atlanta, on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013; he was released from the hospital later that night.

/ CBS Atlanta

(CBS) ATLANTA - The Atlanta Police Department's Gang Unit is investigating the shooting that took place at an Atlanta middle school Thursday, CBS Atlanta reports.

Atlanta Police Chief George Turner, Mayor Kasim Reed and school officials on Friday confirmed the shooting that wounded one student stemmed from an argument between two gangs, the station reports.

It is unknown if the shooting victim, Telvis Douglas, 14, was the intended target or whether he was involved in a gang, according to CBS Atlanta.

Douglas was shot in the back of the neck in a courtyard outside Price Middle School in southeast Atlanta by a 15-year-old male student just before 2p.m. Thursday, police say. An off-duty Atlanta police officer working as a school resource officer was able to get the suspect to drop the gun before he was arrested, the chief said.

Douglas was released from the hospital Thursday night, according to CBS Atlanta. The suspect, another student, was taken into custody at the scene.

In the press conference held Friday afternoon, school officials were questioned about how the suspect got the gun onto Price's campus, and whether or not they could confirm that the school's metal detectors were working on Thursday.

School officials aid they were investigating whether or not the detectors were operating properly, but would not comment any further.

Turner, the police chief, said Friday that the Fulton County district attorney would decide whether to charge the suspect as a juvenile or an adult. Police were not releasing his name for fear of retaliatory acts against him, CBS Atlanta reports.

Complete coverage of the Atlanta school shooting on Crimesider

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by judymar14 February 3, 2013 2:43 PM EST: TWMAT311

The answer...give gangbangers assualt rifles and let them kill each other off.; Reply to this comment


by judymar14 February 3, 2013 12:55 PM EST: Surprise, Surprise!

Shot in the back of neck, with a handgun. MIGHT be gang-related? Where blacks are the majority.

What else would it be but gang-related? Why is this even making national news?

Another good reason to ban assualt rifles? Not!; Reply to this comment


by Duh1230 February 3, 2013 1:22 AM EST: DING! DING! DING! (Actually, it is SouthEast Atlanta. Blacks are the MAJORITY.); Reply to this comment


by Noval53 February 2, 2013 10:56 PM EST: The foundation for the gun problem in the USA is the drug addiction America has. America is the largest and most lucrative illegal drug market place in the world. We try to blame guns, gangs, and bad schools. Many of the same people demanding gun control buy illegal drugs without hesitation. Those billions of dollars spent for the drugs; buys guns, ammunition, and mindless murder that goes far beyond one blood soaked school ground. Legalizing marijuana and taking that money out of the hands of the cartels would do much more to stop the flow of blood than any 20 new gun laws.; Reply to this comment


by Pitts111 February 2, 2013 4:33 PM EST: It took how many articles and two days for CBS to finally state that the Atlanta school shooter was stopped by an armed school guard and not implicating that it was the police that stopped the shooter.

This is not just bad or biased reporting...I think it is dangerous to public safety to withhold critical information.

At least I applaud CBS for finally stating this fact correctly two days after the shooting when people's interest has drifted elsewhere.; Reply to this comment


by judymar14 February 2, 2013 11:28 AM EST: These gang-related shootings have hit the national news since gun-control against assualt rifles have come about when not one of these gang-related murders has an assualt rifle been used? For that matter, the lunatic at Sandy Hook didn't use an assualt rifle.; Reply to this comment


by ogletree47 February 2, 2013 5:58 AM EST: And teachers are the problem? I have lived in Atlanta for years and have seen nothing in education change for the better. Gang problems plague our schools, and yet teachers are to blame for student failure. No one gets paid enough to deal with this kind of behaviour. Imagine that you are a teacher and you are trying to give a daily lesson. You look up and witness this kind of scenario. Where are the leaders when this kind of thing happens? Where's the outrage? Until the same amount of energy and outrage is given to this type of crime, the outrage shown during 'Jena 6,' no change will come.; Reply to this comment