A 14-year-old accused of firing a pellet gun at students at a DeKalb County elementary school was arrested in Durham, N.C., authorities said.
The juvenile faces 10 counts of aggravated assault, one for each student injured in the incident at Wynbrooke Elementary Theme School in Stone Mountain on April 25, according to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office.
MORE: Warrant out for juvenile accused in pellet gun shooting at elementary school
After news of the arrest broke, the school’s principal, Jermain Sumler-Faison, sent a letter to parents that said, in part: “We’d like to thank our school district and law enforcement for their attention to this matter and their effort to keep our school community safe.”
In a statement, Superintendent Steve Green said, “I would like to thank (DeKalb County School District) Public Safety as well as law enforcement in Durham for their hard work to track this individual down.”
Channel 2 Action News reported that the teenager isn’t a current or former DeKalb student. No other details on his arrest have been released. AJC.com does not identify minors who are being charged as juveniles.
The charges stem from an incident that sent nine students to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston. Another student who was shot was picked up from the school by parents.
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Everyone shot sustained non-life-threatening injuries, and those taken to the hospital were released the same day.
The shots were believed to have come from a position away from school grounds, a statement from the school district said soon after the incident. The children were playing outside after lunch when the pellet gun was fired.
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DeKalb County School District Police, who are leading the investigation, previously obtained a search warrant, searched the suspect's residence and retrieved the gun they believe was used in the incident. Police did not say what street the house they searched is on.
On Tuesday, parents pressed school district officials for more transparency during emergency situations, with many complaining that they found out about the shooting from friends or through news reports.
MORE: DeKalb parents call for better communication amid school shooting
— Staff writer Marlon A. Walker contributed to this article
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