The 16-year-old suspect in Wednesday’s chaotic shooting at T.W. Josey High School surrendered to authorities on Thursday morning.
The suspect, who was not named by authorities because he is a juvenile, is being charged with aggravated assault, weapon possession, possession of a handgun under 18 and carrying weapon on school property, according to sheriff’s Lt. Kimberly Lee.
While the student has not been named, his uncle Glenn Davis went on Facebook to defend him, saying, “If a (expletive) jumped me, I would have did the same thing.”
The uncle also posted the teen in the same yellow hoodie that witnesses say he was wearing on Wednesday, a clothing item that was part of a public alert describing the suspect’s clothing as a “yellow jacket and black pants.” Several other relatives and friends made posts with hashtags for “freeCarl.”
The suspect has several Facebook pages under his name, as well as nicknames, which show him using his hand in a gun sign as early as 2016 when he would have been 9 years old.
On Wednesday, authorities said the T.W. Josey High School student shot a classmate in the finger near the cafeteria on the 15th Street campus. Sheriff Richard Roundtree said the suspect fled the school and evaded capture until he surrendered Thursday.
Classes at Josey, Murphey Middle and Marion E. Barnes Career Center were cancelled until Monday “out of an abundance of caution and to provide students and staff an opportunity to begin to recover” from the shooting, school officials said. Teachers were asked to report on Friday while students will remain at home. Normal operations will resume on Monday for both students and staff at both schools. Superintendent Kenneth Bradshaw said counselors will be available for students and staff once they return.
Several local games have also been moved or postponed.
The full image of the photo posted by Glenn Davis:
