Teen shot children headed out to recess

Law enforcement officials in Townville, S.C., released more details today about a shooting at the local elementary school that injured a teacher and two students. One child, a 6-year-old boy, remains in critical condition at a Greenville hospital.

According to police, the teenage gunman drove a truck into the fence surrounding the school’s playground and opened fire as children headed out to recess. The shooter never entered the school building.

Townville Fire Chief Billy McAdams and volunteer firefighter Jamie Brock, who were working at McAdams’ farm, when they got the call of an active shooter at the school. They rushed to the campus together and spotted the gunman’s truck. McAdams, who also is a paramedic, went inside to help the school nurse tend to the injured.

Brock eventually found the teen, tackling him and holding him on the ground until police arrived.

“This was more than just another call to us. This incident occurred in the school where our children and the children of the community attend,” McAdams said Thursday, pausing to regain his composure.

In a statement read by McAdams, Brock said he didn’t want to be thought of as a hero, deflecting praise to the teachers, who protected the students, and the principal.

“They deserve to be called the heroes, and I tip my hat to them,” he said.

The most seriously injured child suffered a gunshot to his leg that severed his femoral artery. South Carolina state Rep. Alan Clemmons, who is friends with the boy’s uncle, said medical teams had to revive Jacob Hall twice before he headed into surgery. First responders airlifted him from Townville to Greenville.

First grade teacher Meghan Hollingsworth, who was shot in the shoulder, and the other student, who was shot in the foot, were treated at a local hospital and released.

Officials still have not named the teen gunman or provided his exact age. He is suspected of shooting and killing his father, 47-year-old Jeffrey Osborne, before launching his attack at the elementary school. The teen called his grandparents crying at about 1:44 p.m. When they couldn’t understand what he was saying, they went to the family’s house and discovered Osborne dead.

The teen’s mother, Tiffany Osborne, issued a statement mourning her husband’s death. She was at work at the time of the shooting.

Police have not speculated about a motive and said they don’t know whether the teen targeted the teacher and students or selected them randomly. Anderson County Sheriff John Skipper said the teen was homeschooled, but the reason isn’t clear.