Gunfire outside Pearl Cohn High School left a 17-year-old boy critically injured shortly after classes ended. Police said the shooting happened at 2:33 p.m., three minutes after dismissal, and the campus went into a brief lockout while investigators searched for a gunman who remained at large.
Family members identified the victim as Demario Crowder, WKRN News 2 reported. The station said the shooting was just off the school grounds at 904 24th Avenue North. Crowder was shot several times, taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and underwent surgery late Friday; his condition was reported as critical.
Police Say Teen May Have Been Targeted
According to WKRN’s account of the investigation, Crowder was not enrolled at Pearl Cohn, and police were considering whether he had been deliberately targeted. No suspect had been arrested, and police had not released a description as of the report.
Police said Crowder ran toward a stolen cream-colored Chrysler 300 after he was shot. The driver fled, and the car and driver had not been located, WKRN reported.
Second Shots-Fired Call, Unclear Connection
Officers also responded to a separate shots-fired call in the 700 block of 25th Avenue North shortly before 6 p.m. the same day. It remains unclear whether that incident is connected to the shooting near Pearl Cohn, the report notes…