NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The student whom police said started shooting inside Heritage High School in September 2021 pleaded guilty in Newport News Circuit Court Friday morning.
Jacari Taylor, a student at Heritage, was 15 years old when the shooting took place. Two students were hurt. Both were 17.
Court documents provided a narrative of what happened at the school the day of the shooting.
Newport News police said security footage showed two students fighting. Officers said one of the students was Taylor and that he pulled out a gun and started shooting.
The paperwork that police filed said Taylor told officers the other person punched him in the face before Taylor started opened fire. Taylor said about 100 people were in the hallway at that time.
The paperwork goes on to say the student with whom Taylor fought started running away, but Taylor said he kept shooting because he "didn’t think I hit him.”
Taylor told police he ran out of the school after the shooting and tossed the gun in a trash can.
The father of one of the victims told 13News Now his son lost a finger and couldn't hear out of his left ear months after the shooting. The father also said that his son remained traumatized because of what happened.
Taylor entered guilty pleas on the following charges:
- Malicious wounding (2 counts)
- Using of a Firearm in the Commission of a Felony (2 counts)
- Possession of a Firearm on School Property
- Discharging of a Firearm on School Property
Taylor's sentencing was scheduled to take place on August 5.
Court documents said Taylor was convicted of Malicious Wounding and Use of a Firearm in March 2021, months before the shooting at Heritage High School.