In less than 24 hours, three high school graduations in the United States end in gunshots.
In three different shootings during high school graduation ceremonies in Louisiana, Michigan, and Tennessee, at least one person was murdered and seven others were injured.
Within a 24-hour period, three high school graduation ceremonies in Louisiana, Michigan, and Tennessee were marred by gunfire, another depressing reminder of gun violence affecting ordinary lives, even that of adolescent kids.
three high school graduations in the United States end in gunshots.
After students walked the stage to receive their degrees, shooting erupted, causing mayhem.
In Tennessee, at least one person was murdered and seven others were injured in a series of gunshots that led to the arrest of a 17-year-old shooter.
Shots were fired at 8:15 p.m. Thursday in Hammond, Louisiana, as graduates of Hammond High School left their ceremony on the campus of Southeastern Louisiana University to meet with their families, according to police.
According to Hammond PD Chief Edwin Bergeron Jr, four persons were hurt in the gunshot, all of whom had non-life threatening injuries. Three people were sent to a local hospital.
Southeastern Louisiana University Police Chief Michael Beckner told NBC News Friday morning that a suspect was apprehended following a brief foot pursuit.
As the investigation continues, charges are pending, and all people involved were adults, according to Beckner.
No kids from Hammond High School are suspected to have been engaged in the shooting, according to police.
“At this moment, we do not believe any students were engaged, and we do not believe any minors were injured,” Bergeron added.
Witnesses and anybody with video evidence of the incident are being asked to come forward by police.
The incident was responded to by Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office officers who were working security for the graduation and the “situation was got under control pretty quickly,” according to authorities.
“We apologize to our families and kids that this night, which should have been a very wonderful occasion for our graduates and their families, ended on such a terrible note,” Tangipahoa Parish Superintendent of Schools Melissa Martin Stilley said Thursday.
Students at Hammond High School will have a virtual school day on Friday, though staff will be in attendance, she added.
Michigan
A shooting erupted at the East Kentwood High School campus outside the football stadium in Michigan on Thursday during a graduation ceremony for Crossroads Alternative High School at around 7:20 p.m., injuring two, the Kent County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Two deputies were on site working security for the ceremony, but by the time deputies got to the parking lot on foot, “the suspect vehicles had fled.”
Kent County Sheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young said in a Thursday evening news conference that people in two cars were exchanging gunshots.
She said “a large number of shots” were fired at the scene.
The sheriff’s office said two victims in the shooting were later located at area hospitals: a 16-year-old from Texas who was shot in the wrist and is in stable condition and a 40-year-old woman from Grand Rapids who was shot in the wrist and abdomen in critical but stable condition.
It’s not clear if the victims were connected to the graduation.
The sheriff’s office believes there were more than two individuals opened fire. Initial reports indicate two white sedans with multiple people inside fled the scene at a high rate of speed, officials said.
READ ALSO: Five people killed while two more injured after a house explosion in Pottstown
How mass shooters took advantage of flaws in gun legislation to cause mayhem
Authorities are also asking for witnesses or people with video or photo footage of the incident to submit tips.
Tennessee
A 17-year-old was arrested in a deadly shooting after a graduation ceremony for Riverdale High School held at the Middle Tennessee State University campus shortly before 9 p.m. Wednesday as the crowd was leaving.
Hasani Brewer, 18, was killed and a 17-year-old high school student wounded, police said. Brewer and the teenager who was shot had gotten into a fight when a third person opened fire, police spokesperson Larry Flowers said at a news conference.
The suspect, who is also 17, was not identified because of his age. He will be arraigned in juvenile court on a first-degree murder charge, Flowers said.
Brewer was a past graduate of the high school, and the wounded teenager is a junior, he said.
“The graduation was just ending, people were leaving, this fight began — so just imagine the chaos when shots rang out,” Flowers said.
