Today, at 9:45 a.m., a 17-year-old male student was shot a block away from the Martin Luther King Jr. High School Campus. The male student was brought into the school shortly after the shooting. The MLK high school campus and the nearby LaGuardia High School of Music & Arts and Performing Arts were both placed under a shelter-in-place order following the shooting.
According to police reports, a suspect has been taken into custody. The 17-year-old victim was treated for non life-threatening wounds and provided aid by School Safety Agents before being taken to an area hospital.
In an update to his schedule, Mayor Eric Adams’ Press Office said, “On Tuesday, New York City Mayor Adams will visit the scene of a shooting that occurred on the Upper West Side of Manhattan earlier this morning.” The Mayor’s schedule update did not mention that the shooting took place outside of a high school and involved a teenage student.
The MLK Jr. campus is severely understaffed with School Safety Agents. There are currently 8 agents assigned to the school. Prior to the City Council and Former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s budget cuts, there were 16 School Safety Agents assigned to the high school campus.
The NYC School Safety Coalition has been calling on Mayor Adams to increase the number of School Safety Agents in schools and police officers outside of schools to provide safe corridors.
