BRICK, N.J. (AP) - Police at the Jersey shore are looking for at least one suspect who shot a teenager Tuesday near a high school in Brick Township.
The 16-year-old male victim, who police did not identify, suffered a non-life threatening gunshot wound outdoors about a quarter-mile from the school, Sgt. James Kelly said. The victim ran to the school seeking help for what initial reports described as a “graze wound” to the shoulder.
No one had been taken into custody Tuesday night, but police cars with lights flashing and sirens blaring were racing from place to place in Brick, a large suburban Ocean County town a few minutes from the beach.
Local and county officers “will be interviewing witnesses and following leads well into the night,” Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said. “This is an active, ongoing investigation.”
The prosecutor emphasized that the incident took place away from the school.
“It’s important for everyone to know this was not a school shooting,” he said.
A police officer assigned to Brick Memorial High School was there Tuesday shortly before 2 p.m. when the victim entered the building for help.
Authorities said the victim was at a hospital with his parents, and were trying to determine whether he was a student at the high school.
Several township schools were placed on lockdown as a precaution before police began releasing children and staff members.
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