(Stark County) – Around noon, anxious parents of students at Jackson Memorial Middle School were allowed to reunite with their children after the school was put on lockdown Tuesday morning, after a seventh-grader shot himself in a school restroom.
No information has been given out about the student’s condition, and police have not said whether the self-inflicted shooting was a suicide attempt, or an accident. They have not said how the boy got the gun into school.
There were no other students injured.
One parent told WTAM 1100’s Ken Robinson that she hopes people pray for their community. Middle school parents gathered outside the building for news about their children, after the district notified them about the situation through a reverse 911 calling system.
The Stark County Sheriff’s office, Ohio State Highway Patrol, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are assisting Jackson Township Police in the investigation.
Jackson Middle School is part of the Jackson Local School District in Jackson Township, located northwest of Canton, and northeast of Massillon. The Massillon Independent says it’s the largest middle school in Stark County, with about 1,400 students and 130 teachers.
All Jackson elementary schools were closed for the day after word of the shooting, and Jackson High School dismissed early. All extracurricular activities for Tuesday in the district are canceled.
(Photo by Ken Robinson/WTAM 1100)
(Photo by Ken Robinson/WTAM 1100)
(Photo by Ken Robinson/WTAM 1100)