A secondary school has been put into lockdown after reports of a ‘shooting involving a Year 11 pupil’.
Armed Response Vehicle (ARV) officers swarmed the area following reports of shots being fired in Kesgrave, near Ipswich.
The victim – a 15-year-old boy – sustained serious injuries and was airlifted to Addenbrooke’s Hospital where he is receiving urgent medical attention.
A spokesperson for Suffolk Constabulary said:
‘Officers were called just after 8.40 am this morning, Monday 7 September, to reports of a shooting in Grange Farm.
‘Friends Walk and Through Jollys are completely closed off at present, and there is a partial closure on Ropes Drive.
‘Members of the public are asked to avoid these areas.
‘Any witnesses, or anyone with information about this incident, is asked to contact Suffolk Police on 101 quoting reference CAD 58 of 7 September’.
According to the Ipswich Star, the headteacher of Kesgrave High School send an email to parents confirming that the incident involved one of its Year 11 pupils who was ‘on their way to school’.
The email reportedly said:
‘We have been made aware by the police that there has been a serious incident involving one of our Year 11 students on their way to school.
‘Students in school are safe, and we are managing the situation in constant close communication with the police.
‘Students are to remain in school and will be kept safe in liaison with the police.
‘Police will be present in the area and around the school throughout the day.
‘At the present time, we are expecting students to be dimissed at the end of the school day at 3.20pm as normal’.
Assistant Chief Constable Rob Jones said:
“Following this serious incident our priority is to keep everyone safe.
“We have now made an arrest as part of the investigation and are working with our partners in Suffolk and our schools to ensure that everyone feels safe when they are collecting their children from school this afternoon.
“There will be more police officers on patrol and to provide reassurance in the area and I would ask for anyone with information about this incident to come forward.”
An Essex & Herts Air Ambulance landed near to the school at around 09:50 hours this morning.
The condition of the patient is not known, and the East of England Ambulance Service is yet to release a statement.
Last updated: 14:47 / 0709
How can you help Emergency Services News?
You can follow Emergency Services News on Twitter, and you can also subscribe, for free, to our Newsletter, which includes a daily digest of our top stories and videos.
You can also find us on YouTube and LinkedIn.
We have also just launched a brand new podcast show that is available on Spotify.
Before you go...
We need your help. As former emergency services & armed forces personnel, we pride ourselves on bringing you important, fast-moving and breaking news stories & video which are free from the negative bias which is often directed at the emergency services & NHS by some sections of the mainstream media.
One of the reasons we started 'Emergency Services News' was because we became tired of reading badly informed stories about the emergency services & NHS which seemed only ever to highlight negative aspects of the job.
We want to be the unheard voice of the remarkable men and women who serve in the emergency services, NHS and armed forces. And with around 500k page views each month, we are getting there!
As income from ads, the mainstay source of income for most publishers, continues to decline; we need the help of you, our readers.
You can support emergency services news from as little as £1. It only takes a minute. Every contribution, however big or small, is vital for our future.
Please help us to continue to highlight the life-saving work of the emergency services, NHS and armed forces by becoming a supporter.
