Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - A student and a security guard were initially reported to have been shot outside a Buffalo high school Wednesday when someone pulled a gun during a dispute the broke out after classes ended for the day, police said.
The incident occurred outside McKinley High School on Elmwood Avenue.
Police say one of the victims was a student, the other is a security guard.
The student is at Oishei Children's Hospital, the guard who was shot in the leg, is at ECMC.
Buffalo Police say the student is out of surgery and is recovering at Oishei Children's Hospital. Authorities say during surgery it was determined that the 14-year-old male student was stabbed multiple times and not shot. The security guard was struck by gunfire in the leg area and is being treated for non-life threatening injuries at ECMC.
The details of what happened were still under investigation, but Buffalo Police Deputy Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said multiple people were involved in a dispute near the parking lot at McKinley High at around 3:45 p.m. EST when a person fired multiple shots.
Police were trying to identify and locate the attacker or attackers. Immediately following the incident, a massive police presence was in the immediate neighborhood and the Erie County Sheriff's Department Air One helicopter was flying over the North Buffalo area for a time.
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The school was in lockdown, before Buffalo Police say it was downgraded to a shelter in place. "We have 100 students that are still in the building for after school activities. The building was cleared and everyone is safe. The principal is facilitating a way to release students to reunite them with their parents," says Gramaglia.
A parent, Barry, told WBEN his daughter was inside the school. "She had called me when the shooting happened," says Barry. "She was crying and she was fearing for her life."
Barry says he tried to get into the school building but was stopped by teachers.
Buffalo Public Schools Superintendent Kriner Cash says there will be a reset at McKinley, where classes will be remote for the next three days. He says after consulting with students, teachers and parents, he may decide to keep remote learning until Feb. 28th, the conclusion of the winter break.
Nearby Buffalo State College canceled evening classes and activities, advising students to shelter in place. The shelter in place was lifted later Wednesday evening.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said, “You never want to see this. School shootings have occurred all too frequently in this country. We never thought it would occur here in Buffalo.”