Police: 13-Year-Old Girl Shot On Florida School Bus Dies
Homestead, FL — A 13-year old girl in Homestead, Florida was shot and killed by another student while on a school bus Tuesday morning, and a suspect is in custody.
Citing Miami-Dade police, NBC News reports that the 13-year-old girl shot was on a bus bound for Somerset Academy Silver Palms. The bus was on its way to the school. A male student is in police custody, but his age and name have not been released. The circumstances by which the suspect came into police custody were not made clear. The victim, whose name has also not been release, was airlifted to Miami Children’s Hospital where she later died.
Somerset Academy Silver Palms is a K-12 charter school in Miami-Dade County. Florida-based Local 10 reports that the eight students on the bus were bound for three different charter schools: Somerset Academy Silver Palms, Summerville Charter School, and Palm Glades Preparatory Academy. The victim was reportedly a student at Palm Glades.
The Associated Press adds that among the other students on the bus was the 13-year-old girl’s 7-year-old sister. Police did not give a motive for why the student was shot, but the bus driver and the other children who were present have been giving interviews with police.
Grief counselors were en route to the school, which, according to its website, was operating as usual.
“At this time we are aware there’s a community situation,” a scrolling banner on the school’s site read. “Somerset Silver Palms is in normal education mode.”
Other than the banner, the website appeared to have no mention of the incident, instead looking like a typical school website with a notice about Jeans Day this Friday, a countdown to graduation (196 days), and a note about dance team practice. The Palm Glades Preparatory Academy website did not reference the 13-year-old girl’s shooting.
