HERNDON, Va. β A teenager is dead and police are searching for another teen after a fight turned into a shooting in Fairfax County Wednesday afternoon.
Police first posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, about the shooting at 3:50 p.m. Officers were called to the 13000 block of Coppermine Road in Herndon, where they found a teen who had been shot, the Fairfax County Police Department said.
The teen was taken to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries but later died.
In a press conference shortly after the shooting, Fairfax County Lt. Colonel Brooke Wright said three young people were involved in a fight.
"At some point, they separated physically and the suspect pulled a firearm and shot at least three rounds. We don't know how many struck the victim who was deceased. There was another victim who is also a teenager who was shot at and not struck," said Lt. Colonel Wright.
"He was very athletic he was a basketball player. My son played basketball with him that's how they reconnected," said Nicole West.
She says the teen who was killed, is her son's cousin.
"My son is destroyed right now. All of his friends are destroyed and I'm scared for them," she told WUSA9.
"It happens every day I know. But, you never think it's going to happen to someone you know and it just sucks," said West.
Officers say they believe they know who the suspect is, but didn't share a description.
"We do believe we know who the suspect is at this time. We don't believe this to be a random act of any kind. All of the parties are known to each other," said Lt. Colonel Wright.
The suspect reportedly ran after the shooting, possibly toward Coates Elementary School.
According to a spokesperson for Fairfax County Public Schools, the school was temporarily placed on 'Secure Building Status', due to police activity in the area.
A witness told WUSA9 they believe at least one of the teens involved arrived at the parking lot in a vehicle.
WUSA9 saw investigators photographing a Honda that was in the parking lot, before towing it from the scene.
Lt. Colonel Wright says what happened is unacceptable.
"We have a teenager who's dead and shouldn't be," said Wright. "And I can't image anything more devastating for that kid's family."
Detectives and crime scene units continued investigating and collecting evidence into the night on Wednesday.
"We take this very, very seriously," said Wright. "Obviously, we know the suspect was armed with a firearm so because of that, yes we're gonna have heavily armed officers searching for that suspect who we believe could be dangerous to them if encountered."
The exact name and age of the victim has not yet been released.
Anyone with information may contact Fairfax County Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS ( 866-411-8477 ), by texting 847411 or online by clicking HERE.
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