One person was shot and another stabbed at McKinley High School in Buffalo late Wednesday afternoon. They were both taken to the hospital. A suspect has not yet been arrested. McKinley students will move to remote learning for the rest of the week.
Buffalo Police confirmed the incident occurred outside the south side of the school building near its greenhouse at 3:45 p.m. They said an individual pulled a gun and fired multiple shots after a dispute.
The student was transported to Oishei Children's Hospital and was undergoing surgery early Wednesday evening. The security guard was at Erie County Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries after being shot in the leg.
Buffalo Police are leading the investigation with assistance from the FBI, New York State Police and Erie County Sheriff. Police are urging anyone with information about the shooting or the suspect to contact any law enforcement agency.
Shortly after 4 p.m., Buffalo State College tweeted that its police force had received a report of an armed person heading down Elmwood Avenue towards the Scajaquada Expressway. In an update just after 5 p.m., Buffalo Police Deputy Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said there was not believed to be any immediate threat to the public at that time.
“Our detectives, our investigators, are working to build up leads, talk to witnesses, and then we will, once we have sufficient evidence working with the district attorney’s office, we will swiftly move to make an arrest,” said Gramaglia during a 6:30 p.m. press conference.
Over 100 students, on campus for afterschool activities at the time of the incident, were put into a lockdown and then transitioned to shelter in place after the building was cleared of suspects.
“This is a crime scene now and we're trying to piece together all the information so we can to figure out exactly what happened,” said Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown.
During a 6:30 p.m. press conference, students were reported to still be in the building, but were slowly being reunited with their families, who had been waiting outside.
Buffalo State College also went into a shelter in place until about 6:30 p.m. after the report of an armed person. All classes and activities for Wednesday evening were canceled.
In the same press conference, Buffalo Public Schools Superintendent Kriner Cash shared that McKinley will be remote for the rest of the week, and then will use a phased return approach under a plan the district has already created. Cash said McKinley has had a plan in place "because we've had bumps here, much of the year."