A high school student and a teacher were shot Tuesday outside a Dorchester school while preparing for a school event, according to Boston police.
Police said the 17-year-old student and 31-year-old teacher were in a group of people in the parking lot at the TechBoston Academy on Peacevale Road when someone opened fire, hitting both victims. This happened around 5:40 p.m. as the group was preparing for a school event.
The injuries are not life-threatening and they are both stable, city officials said.
"It's been a crazy day," said Thuy Lei, who was moving into her new apartment just down the street.
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Lei and her neighbors came out of their homes after hearing a series of gunshots.
"We were all outside. We were moving our stuff in, and then we heard, like, six to seven gunshots just three houses down," she said.
Aerial footage of the scene showed police investigating outside the school building at 9 Peacevale Road, with a Boston Public Schools bus parked outside.
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The search for a suspect is underway.
"Schools are supposed to be a safe haven for our students and our teachers, not a place where they are subjected to brazen and random acts of violence," said acting Boston Police Commissioner Greg Long.
Police and city officials, including Mayor Michelle Wu, called the situation "disturbing" and "unacceptable and said they were putting plans in place to address the violence.
“A baseline must be safety in our neighborhoods and safety at each and every one of our school buildings,” Wu said.
School is canceled Wednesday, but counseling will be available for students.
"I'm very confident that the superintendent and her team, the commissioner, and all of the officers who have been on site, and all the many social and emotional support teams that are in place are well prepared to ensure that tomorrow morning, bright and early, there will be support sites here and we will have the whole force of the city ready here," said Wu.
Lei said she's not as concerned for her own safety, but she worries about the kids at school.
"What I'm more concerned is just the violence," she said. "I mean, it's in the school."
