Come on legislature.
Let us carry on campus.Police investigating shooting at Prattville Christian Academy
By Marty Roney • mroney@gannett.com • October 23, 2008
Prattville Police are on the scene at Prattville Christian Academy investigating a shooting that police describe as "domestic in nature."
An ex-husband shot his wife in the parking lot of the school, said Mayor Jim Byard Jr. The shooting occurred around 5:20 p.m. today. The suspect is in custody, and the victim is in route to a Montgomery hospital in serious condition, Byard said.
Authorities are not releasing the name of the suspect or the victim. The victim has a child attending the school, said Ron Mitchell, headmaster of Prattville Christian Academy.
Prattville Police Chief Alfred Wadsworth said the victim is a 43-year-old female from Deatsville and the suspect is a 50-year-old man from Millbrook.
Wadsworth said the couple had been "having some custody issues."
"His car was here in the parking lot," Wadsworth said. "Her car is here in the parking lot, it is obvious he was waiting at the school. It's obvious he planned this."
Mitchell said there were very few students near where the shooting occurred.
"We had several students in the dome (gym) for basketball practice. That's on the other side of the campus," Mitchell said. "When we found out what was going on, we immediately initiated our lockdown procedures. No one else was injured."
A witness told police that the victim, who was driving a GMC Yukon SUV, pulled into the parking lot and when she got out of her car, "she just started screaming."
"I looked up and he had just appeared, I don't know where he came from," said the witness, whose car was parked about 30 feet away from the victim's. "I heard the shots and then I saw the gun in his hand. He shot her twice, then turned around and looked at me."
Police said the suspect just stayed in the parking lot after he shot the victim. Wadsworth said he "gave himself up without incident."
Investigators are now taking photos of the suspect's Mercedes, and the suspect's SUV, which is still running.
The witness said she ran into the school to tell administrators to sound the panic alarm.
School will operate on regular hours tomorrow, Mitchell said. Counselors will be provided in case staff or students need to talk about what happened, Mitchell said. Prattville Christian Academy is a K4-12th grade school with an enrollment of 536.