Note: Erie’s Public Schools released the following statement at 12:34 pm Tuesday, April 5, 2022:
A student who was injured during a shooting at Erie High School Tuesday morning is in stable condition. Multiple shots were fired shortly after 9:20 a.m. inside the building at 3325 Cherry St., Erie, prompting a hard lockdown. As of noon Tuesday, officers from Erie’s Public Schools police department and the Erie Bureau of Police were investigating and continuing to search for a known person of interest who fled the building.
Students were dismissed classroom-by-classroom about an hour after the shooting, after district and city police officers searched and secured the building.
“We are devastated and angered by this senseless tragedy, and we are all hoping for the full and speedy recovery of the student involved,” Erie’s Public Schools Superintendent Brian Polito said. “I want to thank district and city police for their very prompt and thorough response.
“Incidents like these are a reflection of a troubling rise in youth violence in Erie,” Polito said. “As we ask the entire community to come together to address this challenge, we are working on a comprehensive plan for students and staff to safely return to school. The wellbeing of our students and staff is and always will be our priority, and we will take every measure possible to ensure their safety and security.”
The district will release detailed information about the return to school plan in the coming days. In the meantime, counselors and other professionals who are trained to help meet the emotional needs of our students, staff and parents will be available at the Erie Center for Arts & Technology, 650 East Ave., beginning today at 1 p.m. Other locations for support services may be announced in the near future.
More details will be forthcoming through district communication channels, including our Facebook page, our district website (eriesd.org) and the OneCall telephone notification system.
School will not be in session for Erie High School students only for the remainder of the week. The district will observe Spring Break next week, April 11 through April 18.
