PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — An 18-year-old high school student was taken to the hospital on Friday for a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the leg. Police say the incident took place in the school gym.
It happened around noon at the Philadelphia Learning Academy-South, located at 43rd Street and Westminster Avenue in West Philadelphia.
About 170 seventh- through 12th-grade students were inside the school at the time. About 40 of them were in the gym when the 18-year-old student pulled the trigger, police say.
Authorities say the shooting appears to be accidental.
Police finally located the gun, but it’s not clear how it got through school security in the first place.
During the investigation, students waited in a courtyard, then were re-screened through the metal detectors as they went back in.
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“As a father, as a parent, as someone who’s running school safety, I want to know the same things you want to know,” said Kevin Bethel, chief of school safety for the School District of Philadelphia. “How did the gun get in there? What were the issues that lead to that gun getting in? How can we do a better job of making sure that we don’t get any weapons in our schools?”
He assured parents that the school is now safe. “In all the things that are going on, our schools continue to be one of the safest places for our kids to be.”
The gunshot wound is not life-threatening, and the teen is expected to physically recover.
Nearly 2,000 people have been shot in Philadelphia this year, according to city data. At least 175 of the wounded are 18 years old or younger.
This is a developing story and will be updated.