One Atlanta Technical College student is dead and another was left injured after a gun accidentally discharged inside a classroom on Monday morning, according to police. The student who had the weapon was later found dead inside a campus bathroom from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, while the wounded student was taken to the hospital alert, conscious and breathing.
According to WSB-TV, Atlanta police officers responded to the campus at 1560 Metropolitan Parkway SW at about 8:45 a.m. Monday. Officers arriving on scene discovered a male student dead inside a bathroom from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, as reported by FOX 5 Atlanta. That same report notes officers had responded to the Metropolitan Parkway address after reports of a person shot.
How the Shooting Unfolded
Per the preliminary investigation described by Atlanta News First, the deceased student had a firearm in a classroom, which accidentally discharged, striking the other student in the leg. The injured student was alert, conscious and breathing when taken to the hospital by ambulance, the same outlet reported.
The college said the injured student is expected to recover, according to CBS News Atlanta. Atlanta Technical College secured the campus following the shooting, and classes and operations resumed once that was complete, the outlet's report states.
Police Call Incident Isolated, Caution Findings Are Preliminary
Police described the incident as isolated and said there was no active threat to the surrounding community, per the CBS News Atlanta account. At the same time, Atlanta police cautioned that their findings were preliminary and could change as additional evidence becomes available, the station's report notes.
As of the initial reporting, police had not revealed the names or ages of either student involved, the article notes. One low-confidence account separately described the deceased student as 60 years old, a detail that conflicts with reporting that authorities had not released either student's age; that discrepancy remains unresolved.
A spokesperson for Atlanta Technical College expressed sympathy for the students, their families and the broader college community in the aftermath of the shooting. The college has not provided further updates on the condition of the injured student beyond the initial expectation of recovery.
