Student shot after argument at N.C. high school

A shooting at a North Carolina high school early Tuesday left one male student wounded and another in custody, officials say.

Local police took a call reporting that shots had been fired in a courtyard outside Albemarle High School at 7:40 a.m., just before classes began. When officers arrived, they found one student, later identified as Bernard Miller, with a gunshot wound to the leg, Albemarle Police Chief William Halliburton said at a news conference. The suspected shooter, Jalen Russell, placed the gun on the ground and surrendered to school's resource officer, an Albemarle police officer.

"In this case we had the suspect immediately in custody," Halliburton said. "We had 20 officers there within minutes."

Miller was taken to Stanly Regional Medical Center. His condition was not immediately known.

The school, located about 35 miles northeast of Charlotte, was put on lockdown and later evacuated. Parents of the 466 students enrolled at Albemarle were asked to reunite with their children at North Albemarle Baptist Church, about a block from the school.

It's unclear exactly what precipitated the shooting.

"There was an argument or some type of altercation that led up to it," Halliburton said.

It's also unclear how many shots were fired before Russell surrendered.

"He could have done more," Halliburton said. "So the reaction is that we're thankful that he gave himself up."

According to WCNC-TV, local police had mimicked a large-scale school shooting during an active shooter training exercise this summer.

"I feel we were as prepared as we could be," Halliburton said.

Meanwhile, Twitter users are using the hashtag #PrayersForAlbemarle to send messages of support for the school's shaken community.