COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – A 6-year-old boy who was critically wounded in a school shooting died Saturday, days after a 14-year-old boy opened fire on a school playground, authorities said.
Jacob Hall had been fighting for his life at a hospital after a bullet struck him in a main artery in his leg, causing him a major brain injury due to a “catastrophic” loss of blood, his doctor said. Jacob died about 1 p.m. Saturday, and an autopsy will be done Sunday, Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore said.
Authorities say Jacob, another student and a first-grade teacher at Townville Elementary were wounded by the teenager, who had just killed his father at their home. After the slaying, the teen – who is not old enough to have a driver’s license – drove a pickup truck about 3 miles down a country road, crashed at the school and started firing with a handgun, authorities said.
The wounded were struck as a door opened for recess. Another teacher who heard the first gunshot was able to get other students safely inside, school officials have said. The other wounded student and the injured teacher, Meghan Hollingsworth, were treated and released from a hospital.
Jacob’s parents, Renae and Rodger Hall, thanked the nurses and doctors who cared for Jacob and Hollingsworth, “who put her life on the line to try to protect and save Jacob.”