Valdosta students shot, stabbed in separate incidents
Sep. 26—VALDOSTA — Police are investigating a pair of violent incidents involving students waiting for school buses Monday — one a shooting, the other a stabbing.
The first incident saw police dispatched at 7:17 a.m. to the 1500 block of McLeod Drive after someone called E911 to report that juveniles were fighting at a bus stop, according to a Valdosta Police Department statement.
Officers found a 12-year-old with a stab wound to the abdomen and gave first aid until EMTs arrived. The boy was taken to the hospital, treated and released, police said.
Detectives learned several kids had been in a fight at the bus stop, where a 15-year-old boy pulled out a knife and stabbed the younger boy, police said.
The 15-year-old was taken into custody and detained at a regional youth detention center on charges of felony aggravated assault and felony possession of a knife during the commission of a crime, police said.
In the second incident, officers were dispatched to the 1400 block of Weaver Street at 7:26 a.m. after E911 received calls about a shooting, according to a Valdosta Police Department statement.
While on the scene, officers found the shooting victim had gotten on a school bus and the bus driver was taking him to the hospital. Police stopped the bus on Lankford Drive and found a 17-year-old on board with a gunshot wound in the torso, the statement said.
Officers gave first aid until EMTs arrived and took the teen to the hospital.
Investigators found the teen had been standing at a bus stop in the 1400 block of Laura Street; as he was walking toward the bus, he was shot by an unknown offender.
Despite the shooting happening near a county-run school — Parker Mathis Learning Center on Lankford Drive — both the shooting and the stabbing involved Valdosta City Schools students, said Jennifer Steedley, director of public relations for the city school system. Parker Mathis was put on "soft lockdown" as a precaution during the shooting incident, said Sandra Wilcher, assistant superintendent of student services with Lowndes County Schools.
The shooting appears to be an isolated incident; the victim was reported in stable condition, police said.
The teen shooting victim is not cooperating with law enforcement, police said. The two incidents are not related, Valdosta Police Chief Leslie Manahan said.
Police ask anyone with information on either incident to call the Valdosta Police Department Investigations Bureau, (229) 293-3145 or the Crime Tip Line at (229) 293-3091.
Terry Richards is the senior reporter for The Valdosta Daily Times.
