2 Shot Near Van Nuys Charter School

VAN NUYS, CA — At least two people were hit in a shooting in Van Nuys near CHAMPS Charter High School of the Arts, which remains on lockdown. According to reports from the scene, a teenaged boy and a teacher were injured in the shooting. Two suspects were arrested after a tense manhunt that kept the school on lockdown and students apart from their worried parents for hours.

The wounded teacher and student appear to be in stable condition. Witnesses said they were shot in the arm and leg and were scene sitting upright and speaking to paramedics.

The shooting happened around noon in the 6800 block of Van Nuys Boulevard, near the campus of CHAMPS Charter High School of the Arts. Details about the shooting remain scarce. Paramedics arrived on the scene at about 12:15 and rushed the two injured people to the hospital, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department reported. Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Barry Montgomery said one of the shooting victims was a woman who worked at the school. The other victim was a teenage boy who attended the school. Their names and ages have not been publicly released, but they were expected to survive their injuries.

Authorities don't believe the wounded were intended targets of the shooting. According to Fox11, a special ed teacher was shot in the arm and boy in the 11th grade was shot in the leg.

The first suspect was located almost immediately near the school's outdoor lunch area and taken into custody, and the second was found a couple hours later. Montgomery said he could not confirm if the pair were targeted in the shooting or were unintended victims. Fox11 reported from the scene that the pair were in a crosswalk across from the restaurant and were struck by stray gunfire.

Van Nuys Boulevard was closed indefinitely in both directions, with traffic being diverted to Vanowen Street.

"Sit tight. Be patient. The kids are fine," an LAPD officer told panicked parents, who converged on the school waiting to see for themselves that their kids were alright.

Many had received texts from their children and said they were frustrated not to have heard from the school yet. School and police officials were working to determine a safe procedure to reunite students and parents.

"All of the sudden I just heard three gunshots from the left," an 11th grade girl told Fox11. "I wasn’t quite sure what it was. At first i thought it was fireworks, but it was so loud — I knew something was wrong."

A scene of chaos ensued with students and passersby fleeing to safety. The school, which recently conducted an active shooting drill, and nearby businesses immediately locked their doors.

The scene terrified students and parents alike.

"You send your kids to school and you think that they are safe," the girls mother told Fox11 through tears. "This is real. It’s real."

The LAPD reported just after 3 p.m. that students were being reunited with their parents and the Mayor's Crisis Response Team was on the scene.

City News Service contributed to this report. Photo: Shutterstock