UPDATE: One injured in shooting at Josey High School, deputies looking for gunman

Richmond County sheriff's deputies are searching for a student who on Wednesday opened fire inside Josey High School, injuring one person.

In a media interview at the scene, Sheriff Richard Roundtree said the shooting stemmed from an altercation between two students and escalated to gunfire.

At a press conference Wednesday afternoon with Dr. Kenneth Bradshaw, superintendent of Richmond County schools, Roundtree confirmed the suspect was still at large and that law enforcement does not yet have a motive for the shooting. Law enforcement cannot name the suspect yet because he is a juvenile. Roundtree said students and family know the suspect.

"I would encourage any family members or individuals housing this individual, please call the sheriff's office and turn this individual in," he said. "This is a very tragic situation that scared a lot of people in this community and we want to resolve this issue."

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In the shooting, a student was shot in the hand and was transported to a local hospital for the injury, according to sheriff's spokesperson Kimberly Lee.

Augusta University Health confirmed it is treating one shooting victim for injuries that are not life threatening. Roundtree said he could not speak to whether the weapon used in the shooting had been recovered yet.

Roundtree said dispatch received the first reports of gunfire at about 11:15 a.m. and the suspect fled soon after. Deputies have searched residences associated with the suspect, he said.

T.W. Josey does not have metal detectors currently, Bradshaw said, but it is under discussion. One school resource officer was at the school when the shooting occurred. Roundtree said the school and law enforcement followed procedures for an active shooter.

Following the shooting, a dump truck driver was arrested after trying to blow through a sheriff's office barricade at the intersection of 15th and Essie McIntyre streets at about 1 p.m.

Josey student recounts what happened

Josey High School junior Samaria Stallings said she was in class when she heard two gunshots inside the school.

Stallings said her teacher locked the door and told all of the students to be quiet and contact their parents.

“I immediately called my mom because I was scared,” she said. “We had to wait at least two hours and then the police came and pointed guns at us. … They were treating us like we were the ones who shot up the school.”

Stallings said deputies instructed the students to come out of the room with their hands up.

“It was very traumatizing because this is not the first time we have had an experience like this and it’s very sad," she said.

In a news release sent out by the sheriff's office at noon Wednesday, the agency asked parents to report to Josey's football stadium to reunite with their children.

Stallings’ mother, Despiny Ellerson, said she heard from her daughter before anything was sent out from the school.

“You don’t know if your child’s OK, shot, dead, anything,” Ellerson said. “I immediately jumped up and got here as fast as I could.”

When Ellerson got to the school, she said parents were told to step back.

“The communication was not there,” she said. “We’ve been out here waiting. … [When I saw her] I ran. I ran, I hugged her and gave her a kiss. I was happy she was safe.”

Ellerson said Stallings will not be going back to school tomorrow.

“This is a dangerous situation and this is going to happen more than one time,” she said. “Until they can let me know that my child is safe, she won’t be attending. … There’s a lot of police out here now. I feel like they should have that during school.”

Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson put out a press release on youth violence following the shooting.

"As Mayor, I do not have jurisdiction over law enforcement or our courts," the statement read. "However, I can work to strengthen programming initiatives for our youth. We need to create safe havens for our children, including expanding after school and summer programming offered by our recreation centers."

The shooting comes just one day after multiple fights were reported at George P. Butler High School in Augusta. While videos of numerous fights surfaced on social media Tuesday, the school has only identified one fight and has not spoken out on arrests.

On Aug. 3, a brawl at Aiken High School sent one student to the hospital. Several students were arrested in connection to the fight and one knife was recovered.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Shooting in Augusta, Ga. reported at Josey High School