Two teens injured in US high school shooting

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Two 17-year-olds were injured in a shooting at a high school in the US state of Virginia on Monday, officials said, adding that the suspect had been arrested after fleeing the scene.

“One person — a male juvenile — is in police custody,” Newport News Police Department said in a statement after shots were fired at the Heritage High School.

Police said a 17-year-old male and a 17-year-old female were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds that were not life-threatening.

After a year spent largely learning online, US schools have returned to the classroom, reviving the fear of on-campus shootings, with multiple small-scale incidents reported in recent weeks.

As Monday’s incident unfolded, students were evacuated to the school’s tennis courts, where parents were asked to collect them.

The suspect, who was arrested after leaving the premises, was known to the victims, police said.

Police dismissed reports of active shooters at other schools in the city of Newport News.

In 2018, 17 died at a shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida.

© Agence France-Presse