NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Parents, loved ones and community leaders covered the Heritage High School ground on Monday. The scene was extremely emotional and chaotic as people were reunited with their children.
Police said two teenagers were shot at Heritage High School Monday morning.
By 2:50 p.m., the person investigators believe was responsible for the shooting was taken into custody off of the school campus.
During the chaos, there were even middle schoolers in the mix. Huntington Middle School students are using the top floor of the high school while their school is closed pending the construction of a new school.
Newport News students practice active shooter scenarios a few times each year.
“We were doing our work and then we heard on the announcements, ‘lock down, lock down’,” said Huntington Middle School student Jayden Swilling.
But 11-year-old Swilling never thought one day the announcement to hide wouldn’t be a drill.
“The teachers told us to go to the corner and then they said there was a shooter in the school,” Swilling said.
He said his sixth-grade class ducked until police arrived.
“They told us to come out with.. holding our hands [up],” Swilling said. “And then we were walking out and there were police in front of us and behind us.”
Students said gunshots rang out around lunchtime.
“Then after that one shot, a couple of seconds later a lot of shots started going off,” said a ninth-grade student named Taye. “So, then we ran behind the desk. “
Once police escorted his class outside, Taye got his grandfather on the phone.
“He got ahold of a phone and he told me they were over by a tennis court,” said Pastor Thurman Leonard, Taye’s grandfather. “I guess they directed the students over to the tennis court.”
In that moment of chaos and questions, Leonard said he felt like one thing could help bring parents some peace.
“No matter what situation good or bad happens we ought to pray,” Leonard said.
He locked hands with parents, and they prayed together.
We saw several pastors from neighboring churches come here to see what they could do. They went up to parents to see if they needed a hug or wanted to pray.
Newport News School officials said students at Heritage High will likely switch to virtual learning for a few days.