PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Classes are virtual but counselors are on hand at Northeast High School, as students and staff process a mass shooting that left eight students injured.
Police say it was just before 3 p.m. on Wednesday when three gunmen opened fire on a group of students outside the Dunkin’ on Cottman Avenue. Eight people were struck, ranging in age from 15 to 17 years old. One 16-year-old boy was shot nine times in the torso and is in critical condition. The others were listed as stable at area hospitals.
The shock of the shooting stunned the Northeast High School community. Classes are online for the rest of the week, but counselors are present both at school and online if any of the 3,400 students need to take advantage.
One junior, who stopped by to pick up a poster from a science fair, said he’s been thinking about his classmates.
“I’m really hoping they’re fine, you know. It’s really scary,” he told KYW Newsradio. “You don’t know what can happen when you’re going home or coming to school.”
District Superintendent Tony Watlington and Northeast High principal Omar Crowder visited the injured students Wednesday night, to let them know the adults in charge are doing everything they can to keep them safe.
There are extra district and Philadelphia police officers at the school. The Northeast junior said the mass shooting reinforces the fact that students need to keep their guard up, wherever they are.
“We, as ourselves, have to be careful of our surroundings. We can’t have our music blasting and walking around like we own the world and stuff,” he said, “so we have to be on our guard every time.”