DA: Suspect in Erie High shooting is under 15, will be charged as juvenile when found

• Student shot inside Erie High shortly after 9:20 a.m. on Tuesday
• Erie police said Tuesday afternoon that they had identified a suspect and were searching for the person, whom they did not identify
• No classes at Erie High through April 18, including spring break

The suspect in the shooting of another student at Erie High School on Tuesday is younger than 15 years old, making that person ineligible to be charged as an adult in the case, the Erie County district attorney and other officials said at a news conference on the incident.

District Attorney Elizabeth Hirz and Erie Police Inspector Mike Nolan declined to specify the age of the suspect, who remained at large at the time of the new conference, at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. But they said that, when taken into custody, the suspect would face juvenile charges because the person is younger than 15.

Juveniles can be charged as adults in Pennsylvania for violent crimes under the Fisher Bill, also known as Act 33. But the law, effective since 1996, applies only to juveniles who are at least 15 years old. The only exception is that juveniles younger than 15 can be charged with homicide.

“Due to the age of the juvenile, the Fisher Bill would not be appropriate,” Hirz said.

The suspect fled Erie High after the shooting, Nolan said. He said he could not provide more details on the suspect’s age because the suspect is a juvenile. He also declined to comment on the suspect’s gender.

Nolan called the shooting an “isolated, targeted incident” that was not “a random act of violence.” He declined to comment on the relationship, if any, between the shooter and the victim, saying any relationships were “still part of the active investigation.”

Shooting occurred in a hallway

Nolan said the shooting happened in a hallway with other students nearby and that more than one shot was fired. He said a nurse tended to the injured student immediately, and that Erie police and other emergency personnel got to Erie High 90 seconds after the school reported the shooting at 9:22 a.m.

Nolan said the shooter used a 9 mm handgun that has not been recovered, and he said police had identified the shooter but had not taken the juvenile into custody. He declined to specify the age and gender of the victim, but said the victim and the shooter are both students at Erie High.

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Erie schools Superintendent Brian Polito, who was also at the news conference, said the Erie School District is developing a security plan for Erie High for when students return after spring break, which ends April 18. The district canceled classes at Erie High for the rest of the week in light of the shooting, and the district’s spring break starts next week.

Polito said the district has never used metal detectors at Erie High, but that staff used security wands on students who arrive to school late and “do random wandings as well.”

“We are working on a plan to safely return our students to school,” Polito said.

The shooting drew comments from public officials throughout the day. They included Gov. Tom Wolf.

“I am deeply disturbed by the violent shooting that took place at Erie High School today,” Wolf said in a statement. “Students, faculty and staff deserve to feel safe in their school and community, yet gun violence continues to impact all corners of our commonwealth.”