A juvenile is being accused of shooting a middle school teacher multiple times.
HOBBS, N.M. (WKRC) - A juvenile is being accused of shooting a middle school teacher multiple times.
The shooting happened at Highland Middle School in New Mexico on Sept 25. According to authorities, the teacher was shot multiple times before the suspected shooter could be apprehended by police.
Police responded to the school at about 11:40 a.m. after receiving initial reports of a stabbing. Those initial reports were then changed to a "possible shooting," according to the Hobbs Police Department.
Police arrived within minutes of the report and secured the building. Officers found that students were safe. They then found a staff member who had been shot multiple times.
“Today, an incident occurred at Highland Middle School where a juvenile attacked and shot one of our staff members while outside the building,” Superintendent Gene Strickland said in a statement released after the shooting.
After the shooting, the victim was identified by his family as Kelly Matthews. He had been shot in the stomach and hip and was believed to have been grazed by another bullet.
Matthews, who is a special education teacher, was believed to either be walking through the school's parking lot or between buildings before the shooting. It is then believed that is when he came across the suspect.
Police described the suspect as a "juvenile male who produced a handgun and fired multiple times before fleeing on foot."
The juvenile was later found and taken into custody after a search around the school. The identity of the juvenile was not released, but he was identified as a 13-year-old boy. It has not been confirmed if he was a student at the middle school.
Following the shooting, Matthews was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, where he reported as "stable and in good spirits."
The investigation is still ongoing and police have not yet named a motive.
“We don’t know if he was a targeted victim or if he was just the first victim in what was to be a planned mass shooting,” said Matthews’ daughter, according to KOAT.
“Our focus tonight is on supporting our staff member, caring for our students and employees, and making sure Highland Middle School remains a safe and supportive place for our children and staff," said Hobbs Municipal Schools in a press release.
