Atlanta School Shooting Injures 4 Students After Fight Escalates

ATLANTA, GA — Four male students were shot after a fight escalated during dismissal Wednesday at Benjamin E. Mays High School, police said at a news conference.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said those students were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in stable condition.

Atlanta Public Schools Police Chief Ron Applin said the fight broke out around 4 p.m. at the Benjamin E Mays Drive school, prompting a response from APS. While officers were on scene, shots rang out and injured the students.

Applin said additional APS officers, as well as Atlanta Police, immediately responded to the shooting and treated the students.

"We worked together to make sure that those students got to the hospital safely and securely and that they were treated," Applin said at the news conference.

Atlanta Police received the first 911 call about the shooting around 4 p.m., and APS officers were able to give Atlanta Police "critical" information over the radio that led to a traffic stop, Atlanta Police Maj. Ralph Woolfolk said.

Atlanta Police stopped a vehicle at Baker Road and Commercial Drive, where they detained a mother and her 17-year-old daughter for questioning. A male was also detained.

Meanwhile, Dickens said students were being interviewed by officers inside of the school cafeteria at the time. Police said they interviewed around 100 students.

"I'm shocked and heartbroken," Dickens said of the shooting at his alma mater. "This is a place where I spent four years of my life as a student. ... I feel sorry for the young people that have been impacted by this - those directly that's been shot and those indirectly that were around to witness that and those, right now, that are being inconvenienced."

Dickens noted the safety of the students is top priority, while police planned a more visible presence Thursday on campus.

It is unknown if anyone was arrested in the case.