Tampa Police are investigating a shooting that happened near Middleton High School just after dismissal on Feb. 16.
- One student hit in leg by ricochet, other grazed on the foot
- Middleton placed on lockdown temporarily
- Source of gunfire, motive unclear
Investigators said two students were walking home near the intersection of N. 24th St. and E. Curtis Avenue about 3:05 p.m. One of them, a 17-year-old girl, was hit in the leg by what appears to be a ricochet.
The other student, an 18-year-old girl was reportedly grazed in the foot by a bullet. The 17 year old was transported to an area hospital, while the 18 year old was treated on the scene.
Both are seniors at Middleton High School.
"This is a week where everybody is on heightened alert," said Steve Hegarty, Tampa Police PIO. "You know, this obviously is much less serious than some of the things that we've seen."
Police aren't sure where the gunshots came from or what the motive was.
Mayor Bob Buckhorn rushed to the scene as a precaution.
"Immediately my thought was, not now, not in our city, not again," he said.
Michael Reeves lives close to where the shooting happened. He said after Wednesday's shooting in Broward County, he was nervous when he saw all the police activity.
"We don't want that coming here, so if you can see the police officers, they were really out at the schools trying to make sure that everybody understands that safety is more important than anything right now," he said.
The high school was put on lockdown because of the gunfire nearby but the lockdown was lifted a short time later.
Police said all the proper protocols were followed.