Police: 1 killed, 1 injured outside Georgia graduation

JONESBORO, Ga. – One person was killed and another wounded when an argument led to a shooting outside a high school graduation ceremony Friday night in metro Atlanta, police said.

The incident happened as people headed to their cars, Clayton County schools’ safety chief Thomas Trawick said. 

Rescuers told WAGA-TV the victim who was killed as a woman in her 40s. They said she was shot multiple times in the chest. Another adult in her 20s was shot in the leg and a pregnant female was hurt as she fell during the commotion.

The shooting victim was taken to Atlanta Medical Center and the pregnant woman taken to Henry Medical Center, fire officials said.

The shooting followed a ceremony for graduates of the Perry Learning Center, which prepares students for careers as an alternative to traditional high schools. It happened on the campus of Mount Zion High School, which provided overflow parking for people attending the ceremony at the Clayton County Schools Performing Arts Center in Jonesboro, about 20 miles south of Atlanta.

Trawick said his initial reaction “wasn’t pleasant,” given news of a fatal shooting earlier in the day in Texas. 

“The last thing you want to do is have a situation at a graduation that results in anyone being injured, and definitely not being shot,” he said.

A police presence remained at the scene late Friday night. Three cars were being towed away; Scott Stubbs of Clayton County police said they’d be part of the investigation. But he and other officers on the scene said they couldn’t release any further information.