17-year-old student fatally shot in high school parking lot, authorities say

SEATTLE (AP) — A 17-year-old student was fatally shot in the parking lot of a Seattle high school during lunchtime Thursday, officials said.

Seattle Public Schools said in a statement that the Garfield High student was taken to Harborview Medical Center. Police said later that he underwent surgery at the hospital but died.

Around 12:45 p.m. police said on the social platform X that officers were investigating a shooting at an address matching that of the high school. Officers found the student with multiple gunshot wounds.

Garfield was temporarily placed in lockdown, and two nearby schools were ordered to shelter in place, officials said.

Detectives learned that before the shooting, the 17-year-old tried to break up an altercation between the shooting suspect and another person. After walking away, the suspect approached the 17-year-old and shot him, Deputy Chief Eric Barden told The Seattle Times.

The suspect, said to be male and of high school age, fled and has not been located, police said. It was not clear if he is also a student at Garfield.

The school is east of downtown in Seattle’s Central District. In March a student was shot in the leg outside the school while she waited at a bus stop, the Times reported.

“I can’t use the word ‘trauma’ enough to describe what our children are going through,” Mayor Bruce Harrell said at a news conference. “Our kids deserve better.”

Sue Rahr, the city’s interim police chief, said her department would redouble efforts in the community to try to help students and residents feel safe.

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