MATTHEWS, N.C. (WCNC) — Matthews Police Department confirmed that a student who was shot during a fight at Butler High School Monday morning died.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Dr. Clayton Wilcox said the shooting happened in one of the school's main hallway before classes Monday morning. A Matthews Police spokesperson said surveillance video showed the fight that led to the shooting.
Detectives on the scene are interviewing students who may have witnessed the shooting. The shooter was taken into custody at the school shortly after the incident. Police said the school's resource officer was the first to get to the scene and engaged with the suspect.
"We are incredibly saddened that we had a loss of life on one of our campuses," said Wilcox. "And what makes it doubly worse is it was one of our students who was the shooter."
Matthews Police responded to the report of a shooting a little after 7 a.m. When emergency officials got to the school, they rushed the victim to Carolinas Medical Center, where he died as a result of his injuries. Wilcox said the school district was pleased with the response from law enforcement but ultimately they failed to protect the students.
"We don't actively search every bad that comes into school each and every day," Wilcox said. "I will tell you from one perspective, yes we failed. Maybe we didn't intervene early enough in a bullying situation. I don't really know what took place.
"I don't know how a young person gets a handgun in the state of North Carolina but we'll look into all those things and make sure it doesn't happen again."
The school was placed on lockdown around 8 a.m. That lockdown was lifted a little before 9:30 a.m. as hundreds of frustrated parents stormed the front doors of Butler High. A group of students said they were able to get out of the building as parents began to make their way inside to pick them up. One large crowd of parents marched onto Butler's campus from nearby Elevation Church after being asked to stay at the church by police and school administrators.
State Superintendent Mark Johnson issued the following statement on the shooting at a school in Matthews.
"I am heartbroken to hear that we have lost a student to school violence in one of our schools. We have contacted Charlotte-Mecklenburg authorities and will assist in any way we can, but of course our first thoughts are for the parents and other loved ones of the student who passed away. The safety of our students is paramount. This is a sad day for all of North Carolina, and we must work together as a community to address these problems."
Text messages from a student inside Butler High. pic.twitter.com/K67ZuRa7Ba
Detectives said the shooting was an isolated incident and remains under investigation.