Three teens face attempted murder charges in shooting at Illinois high school

Three teenage boys in Illinois were charged in a shooting at a high school this week, local media reported.

The boys, ages 15, 16 and 17, each face two counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm and two counts of attempted murder, according to a news release from the Rockford Police Department.

Police arrived at Auburn High School at around 1:10 p.m. Jan. 4 and found two 17-year-olds — one boy and one girl — inside a car that had been struck by gunfire in the parking lot. Both of them had injuries and were taken to local hospitals by the fire department, police said in the release.

Students at the high school were under a two-hour lockdown while police investigated. Three other nearby schools were also on lockdown during the investigation, according to a Facebook post from Rockford Public Schools.

Shortly after the shooting, officers saw the suspects driving and followed them until their car crashed, police told WREX. The suspects tried to run away, but police arrested them soon after.

After the shooting, Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd urged members of the community to become more involved in preventing gun violence, WREX reported.

“You all know who the kids are that are involved with the guns, who have access to guns,” Redd said, according to My Stateline. “They’re your kids, they’re your neighbors, they’re your grandkids, they’re your nieces, they’re your nephews. Stop sitting on your bottoms and doing nothing about it. It’s not OK… It’s not OK.”

Redd echoed the same sentiment at a news conference on Jan. 5 and added that she believes the recent shooting was an isolated incident.

The Rockford Police Department and Rockford Public Schools did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.

This story was originally published January 5, 2022 at 6:45 PM with the headline "Three teens face attempted murder charges in shooting at Illinois high school."