POWDER SPRINGS, Ga. — A teen is in custody, and police are searching for another person in connection to a shooting where two people were shot in the parking lot at McEachern High School Thursday afternoon, according to police.
Cobb County Police said they arrested a 17-year-old, from Powder Springs, around midnight in Union City. The teen faces charges including two counts of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm on school property. Authorities said the teen was a witness to the altercation and pulled out a pistol and then shot two people.
"Notably, the victims were not McEachern students but had engaged in a physical altercation with a McEachern student," Cobb County Police Chief Stuart Vanhoozer said.
One person was shot in the arm and another person was shot in the leg, authorities said. Both were taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital for treatment and are expected to be OK.
Police said another suspect also pulled out a weapon, but they are still searching for them.
Both police and Cobb Schools are emphasizing safety -- making sure students not only are safe but also feel safe.
"There are two problems. You've got the safety and you've got the fear. It's scary for these young people to go back to school today. It's scary for parents to send them to school today. That's why you'll see increased presence there," VanHoozer said.
Cobb County Schools' Chief Strategy and Accountability Officer John Floresta said Thursday was a very emotional day for the district.
"We're really proud of our staff, not just our police officers, but certainly the local staff there at McEachern who really, responded really, really well to keep our kids safe," Floresta said.
Floresta said there are a total of 80 school resource officers across the district.
"On a daily basis, there is a heavy police presence at McEachern, as there is at all of our schools, and there certainly was yesterday," Floresta added.
Floresta said the school's police and administration did exactly as they were trained to do.
"We believe that kept our students safe yesterday. We've invested heavily in tools. Things like Crisis Response System, CENTEGIX, which was used yesterday to lock down campus within seconds of the incident beginning. And then I mentioned training, and all of our staff is trained across the entire district, educators and those who support educators, for days just like yesterday," he said.
Floresta said school counselors were on campus Friday to provide support for students and staff. He added: if you see something, say something.