An 11-year-old and a 13-year-old boy were caught trying to run away shortly after the midday ambush at the Westside Middle School, police said. A third boy who allegedly pulled the fire alarm was being sought.
Authorities said as many as 27 shots were fired. Youngsters ran screaming back inside the school as their classmates fell bleeding, then cried as they waited for emergency workers.
"Someone pulled the fire alarm inside and they went outside, and two people in camouflage clothing started shooting," said Connie Tolbert, a secretary.
"We thought it was just firecrackers," said one student, Brandy George. "I saw one of my teachers get shot. I started running towards the gym."
Said paramedic Charles Jones: "We had children lying everywhere. They had all been shot."
Sheriff Dale Haas cried as he recounted the shootings.
Two of the dead girls were 12 and one was 11, state police spokesperson Bill Sadler said. He said he did not know the age of the fourth victim. Their identities were not immediately released.
Ten of the wounded were female, including the two teachers, who required surgery and were listed in critical condition. Five wounded girls were admitted in stable condition. Three girls and one boy were treated and released. The wounded students were between 11 to 13 years old.
The school has about 250 students in sixth and seventh grades. Jonesboro is a city of 46,000 about 130 miles northeast of Little Rock.
The two boys, wearing camouflage shirts, pants and hats, were caught near the school with handguns and rifles. Officer Terry McNatt said they offered no resistance and said little. The boys, both students at the school, were being held at the county jail.
Investigators said the boys were running in the direction of a white van found about a half-mile away from the school with more guns and ammunition in it. It wasn't immediately certain if the vehicle was related to the shootings.
Karen Pate, a parent volunteer, was in the school gym when the fire alarm went off just after sixth-graders had finished lunch and returned to their classrooms. She fled outside and "saw girls falling to the ground."
"I helped one teacher who had been shot in the abdomen get out of there where she could lay down and we could start medical attention," Pate said.
03-25-98
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