A 16-year-old boy is clinging to life after police say he was gunned down by his high school classmate while waiting for a school bus Tuesday morning.
The teenager was taken to the hospital in critical condition and was on life support Tuesday afternoon after he was shot in the head at the bus stop around 6:30 a.m., Lawrenceville police spokesman Lt. Jake Parker told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
His classmate at Central Gwinnett High School, 17-year-old Serar Shakiib Abdi, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
The 16-year-old’s family believes he is brain dead, Parker confirmed late Tuesday.
“While there are many rumors circulating about the student’s condition, we do not have any confirmed details,” Principal Shane Orr said in an email to families early Tuesday. “That said, this is a grave situation, and our thoughts are with the family of this student.”
Abdi was booked into the Gwinnett County Jail and remains there without bond, online records show.
Lawrenceville police said the 16-year-old, whose name has not been released, was waiting for the morning bus in the Saddle Shoals subdivision when he was ambushed. Investigators believe the shooting stemmed from an ongoing dispute between the shooter and the victim.
“They had a history where they had some sort of conflict, and of course this was the result,” Parker said.
An 18-year-old was also taken into custody Tuesday morning, but Parker said his involvement is still under investigation. It is not clear if the 18-year-old is also a student at Central Gwinnett, but he was not mentioned in the principal’s email to the community. His name also has not been released.
The principal said Central Gwinnett faculty and counselors would be available this week to help students deal with the tragedy. Orr had requested additional school resource officers to patrol the campus Tuesday.
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