According to Grady Memorial Hospital spokeswoman Denise Simpson, one of the four victims of the Therrell High School shooting admitted to their hospital is currently in critical condition. The four were among the five who received injuries near the southwest Atlanta school on Tuesday after a 17 year-old student decided to go on a shooting spree. Authorities have said the shooter on Tuesday was out on bond then for robbery before the shooting.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained records of the Fulton County Superior Court, which showed that Marcellus Brooks was charged and then pleaded not guilty to felony robbery less than a week ago. Jail records also revealed that Brooks was released on an $8,000 bond after staying in jail for 15 days.
Although details were sketchy, one student disclosed to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he and his brother saw a group of over 20 students running. After that, the two allegedly heard at least five gunshots. Chafee had said that the shooting happened in the area of Panther Trail and Childress Drive. The brothers had then ran to a nearby gas station and instructed a woman whom they spotted in a car to call 911.
Officer John Chafee with the Atlanta police have said that investigators are still probing the circumstances that led Brooks to shoot five people near the high school. Less than a day after the shooting happened, Atlanta Public Schools and the Atlanta Police Department amplified campus security and barred students from coming to school with backpacks.
APS spokeswoman Kimberly Willis Green said, "As a safety precaution, students will not be permitted to carry book bags or backpacks for the remainder of the school year."
Police has refused to divulge the names of the five who were shot by Brooks partly because the investigation is still ongoing. However, Shavien Dennis has told reporters outside of the hospital that her 17 year-old daughter Tekevious Redding was one of them, and still has a bullet lodged in her leg.
