Officer Aaron Wilson of the Cobb County Police Department announced in a public information release that a suspect has been arrested in yesterday’s shooting at McEachern High School. The suspect is a 17-year-old male from Powder Springs.

When police arrived at the scene of the shooting yesterday, they found two people in the parking lot with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.

The victims were not students at the school, but had “engaged in a physical altercation with a McEachern student.”

The 17-year-old, who was initially not involved in the altercation, produced a pistol and shot the two victims. A second suspect, who has not been identified at this time, drew a firearm and fired without hitting anyone.

Officer Wilson told the Courier in a phone conversation that the two victims were taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital for treatment.

The Cobb County Police Violent Crime Bureau apprehended the suspect in Union City, GA, without incident. He now faces charges of Aggravated Assault (two counts) and Possession of a Firearm on School Property.

The public information release states that while one suspect is in custody, “the investigation remains active as authorities work diligently to identify the second shooter, and anyone with pertinent information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Cobb County Police Department Major Crimes Unit at 770-499-4111.”

Crimes Against Persons Unit

The Crimes Against Persons Division of the Cobb County Police Department is part of the Major Crimes Unit, and is broken down into several specialized units, to investigate homicides, robberies, technology-based crime, domestic violence and stalking, and crimes against children. It has a unit that does crime analysis to identify evidence to help link cases and identify suspects.

The division also houses the Crime Scene Unit which according to the division’s website “is responsible for documenting and processing crime scenes to locate evidence, identify suspects, and to present evidence in criminal proceedings. Crime scene technicians are responsible for processing evidence utilizing a variety of procedures for fingerprint, DNA, and trace evidence.”

The commander of the Major Crimes Unit is Capt. Matt Brown, and the Crimes Against Persons Unit is commanded by Lt. Tim Nelson.