Provided by Prince William County Police
On April 30, Prince William County police began to investigate the discharge of a firearm at Hylton High School. 14051 Spriggs Road, Woodbridge.
The investigation revealed that shortly before noon, a noise was heard inside of an art classroom within the school. At the time of the incident, there were other students and a teacher present in the classroom. Initially there was confusion over what the noise was. There were no initial indications of a shooting observed, other than a noise being heard. The teacher immediately notified school security and a student was identified as possibly making the unknown noise.
The student was removed from the classroom and brought to the main office for questioning; the student was not initially cooperative with what had occurred or the nature of the noise. Other students who witnessed the incident were also not forthcoming with police during initial interviews.
While questioning the involved student, class changes took place inside the building. During a check of the room, the teacher located a trash receptacle that had damage consistent with a bullet strike. At that time, the School Resource Officer was notified. During a second check of the room, bullet fragments were located in the ceiling. The firearm was not located on the student or during the search of the classroom.
Once a shooting was believed to have occurred, the building entered a secure status while additional police resources responded to conduct a methodical search. Due to the firearm not being located and class change already occurring, all students were held until police could ascertain the location of the weapon.
Shortly before 5:00 p. m., officers located the firearm, which was found hidden inside in an adjacent room, connected to the initial classroom where the incident occurred. The investigation further revealed that the student was showing the weapon to other students in the classroom when it discharged. The student involved reported a minor injury and was treated at the school. Following the investigation, the student, identified as a 16-year-old male, was charged.
Charged on April 30: [Juvenile]
A 16-year-old male of Woodbridge
Charged with possession of a firearm on school property
Court Date: Pending | Status: Held at the Juvenile Detention Center
