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Indiana authorities are searching for a suspect in the targeted deadly shooting of a 16-year-old high school student at a bus stop Thursday, as schools in the area were placed under lockdown orders.
A 16-year-old male student at Whiteland Community High School was shot and killed at approximately 7 a.m. Thursday at a bus stop on the corner of Providence Drive and Winterwood Drive in the Summerfield Housing addition in Greenwood, Indiana, according to authorities.
The Greenwood Police Department said the investigation is ongoing, but authorities believe the shooting was an isolated incident and the homicide victim was “specifically targeted.”
So far, authorities have not identified the suspect further or clarified whether he/she was a student.
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Greenwood Assistant Chief of Police Matt Fillenwarth told WTHR that the teen boy, a high school sophomore who recently transferred to the school district, was shot multiple times.
Witnesses said the victim was standing at the stop with several other students when the suspect approached him. Other students had already begun to run away as the suspect opened fire.
Johnson County Sheriff Duane Burgess told WTHR that multiple agencies have responded to the search effort, which involves an Indiana State Police helicopter and an ATF K-9 officer.
The suspect, last spotted wearing a dark hoodie, is believed to have run into a cornfield west of U.S. 31, FOX 59 reported.
Witnesses said the victim was standing at a bus stop with several other students when the suspect approached.
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Greenwood Community Schools placed schools on lockdown out of precaution, a spokesperson said.
Greenwood Community High School, according to updates shared on its social media accounts, initially placed the school on lockdown “due to an incident in the community, but not on the school campus.”
The lockdown was later moved to a “lockout situation,” meaning exterior doors were to remain locked and students were not able to leave rooms without administrative approval or escort. About an hour later, the high school said it was in a “level 2 lockout,” meaning students would follow bell schedules and move between classes but still need administrative approval or escort to leave the building.
Greenwood Middle School and Greenwood Christian Academy were also placed on lockdown orders.
“It is a sad day for The Clark-Pleasant school community. It is with a heavy heart that we report that one of our high school students has died after being shot near his bus stop earlier this morning, near US 31 and Worthsville Road,” Clark Pleasant Schools Superintendent Dr. Patrick Spray said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends and also to his classmates and teachers at Whiteland Community High School.”
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“Greenwood Police are handling the investigation, interviewing witnesses and searching for the suspect near the scene. Clark-Pleasant Police Department is securing all of our school buildings today and extra officers have been brought in to assist,” Spray continued. “Clark-Pleasant Community School Corporation will bring in additional mental health/grief counselors to help students deal with this tragic incident as needed. We will have more information on the investigation as we get it.”
