The family of Jacob Hall, a 6-year-old boy wounded when a teenage suspect apparently opened fire Wednesday outside a South Carolina elementary school, says he’s in critical condition and on life support. Hall was shot in the leg and lost a massive amount of blood, leading to serious brain damage.
Hall was shot while he was playing on the playground with other first-graders. His family released a statement Thursday, the Greenville News reports, saying the first-grader is “a very sick little boy,” adding, “Jacob is in very critical condition, and we are hanging on every second.” A family friend created a GoFundMe to help with Hall’s medical bills and family expenses. Greenville Health System, the hospital treating Hall, said in a statement that he was hit in the femoral artery and that he has “has undergone surgery and a number of procedures to try to stabilize his condition.”
The suspected shooter hasn’t been identified, due to his age; WLOS reports that he’s due in court for an initial arraignment Friday morning. The teenager reportedly called his grandmother’s cellphone early Wednesday, but was crying so hard she couldn’t understand what he was trying to say. His grandparents went to his house, which neighbored theirs, and found the teen’s father shot to death and the boy gone.
The shooter is said to have crashed a pickup truck into the playground fence and immediately begun firing. He was subdued by Jamie Brock, 30, a volunteer firefighter who rushed to the scene from a nearby farm along with Townville Fire Chief Billy McAdams. They first found Meghan Hollingsworth, a first grade teacher who was shot in the shoulder. McAdams told CBS Hollingsworth refused help and directed him to Hall instead: “She was telling us to take care of Jacob and not to worry about her.”
Besides Jacob Hall, another 6-year-old boy was shot in the foot. He’s been discharged from the hospital. The district’s superintendent told ABC Thursday that the wounded teacher managed to close a school door, lock it and usher the other children inside to safety.