AURORA, Colo. — A 16-year-old Colorado student is in custody and facing an attempted murder charge related to a Friday shooting in the Hinkley High School parking lot that wounded three teenagers, the Aurora Police Department confirmed.
The shootings occurred just after noon, and responding officers found one teenager in the parking lot who had been shot. That student was transported to an area hospital, while two other teenage victims self-transported for medical treatment, according to a news release issued by the department and obtained by KDVR.
Aurora Chief of Police Vanessa Wilson confirmed during a news conference that none of the injuries appears to be life-threatening, but she later expressed via Twitter her frustration with a recent uptick in local school violence, especially those instances involving firearms.
Friday’s shooting came only four days after six Aurora Central High School students, ranging in age from 14 to 18, were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries following a suspected drive-by shooting at a park near the school’s campus.
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Per the Friday shooting, the preliminary investigation indicated that a fight broke out in the parking lot during the school’s lunch break, after which a white pickup truck drove through the lot and several of the vehicle’s occupants began firing shots, KUSA reported.
Meanwhile, an Aurora Police Department school resource officer fired his weapon during the attack, but it was not immediately clear if his shots struck anyone. He then applied a tourniquet to the injured student in the parking lot, the department stated.
Police confirmed that they found a variety of shell casings at the scene and continue working to determine exactly how the people who were shot were involved, KUSA reported.
KDVR confirmed late Friday that a 16-year-old boy, who is not being identified publicly, was arrested on an attempted murder charge in the Hinkley High shooting and that police continue their search for “the other involved suspects.” He was not among the shooting victims, the TV station confirmed.
Police confirmed that the three teenagers shot included a 16-year-old boy who attends APS Avenues, as well as a boy and girl, both 17, who attend Hinkley, KUSA reported.
Investigators have not yet linked Friday’s shooting to the Monday park shooting, but they are investigating any connections between the two incidents, the TV station reported.