Teen shot dead in ‘gang feud’

A FEUD between teenagers apparently spilled over into a packed high school gym as assailants armed with an AK-47 assault rifle and a handgun opened fire, killing one youth and wounding three others.

“I had just left the gym to go to the school nurse when I heard the shooting,” said Kyle Ramos, 15, a student at John McDonogh High School in New Orleans.

“Bam, bam, bam. I knew what it was and I ran.”

Four suspects, ranging in age from 17 to 19, were arrested following Monday’s shooting in the gym that was crowded with 200 students.

Police said the shooting appeared to be retaliation for a murder on April 7.

Police Chief Eddie Compass said he did not know if any of the suspects attended the school, about a mile north of the US jazz city’s French Quarter.

It was not clear how the guns got past metal detectors and guards at the school.

Students and school security officers said there was a hole in the fence near the gym.

The four suspects apparently confronted Jonathan Williams, 15, as he sat in the gym with other students.

He was shot repeatedly in the head and body, police said.

Three girls were wounded in the barrage and a fourth was injured in the stampede to escape.

School board member Elliot Willard said students told him that Williams was the target and that the girls were accidental victims.

Leon Myles, a 17-year-old junior, said he knew Williams. “He was an OK guy,” he said. “It was probably gang stuff.”

Tyrone Crump, 17, Herbert Everett, 18, and Michelle Fulton, 17, were all booked on murder charges. The fourth suspect arrested, Larry Moses, 19, allegedly hid the trio after the shooting and was booked as an accessory, police said. Warrants were also issued for two more suspects.

About 200 students were in the gym when the suspects entered, police said. As shots rang out students dived for cover as panic spread through the hall.

“They started shooting and I started running,” said one pupil, 15-year-old Garick Jacob, who was in the gym.

“I was really scared.”

Doctors said a 15-year-old girl underwent surgery after a bullet went through both her legs. Two 16-year-old girls who were grazed by bullets were treated and released.

A third 16-year-old Christian Ransfer, remained in hospital with stomach injuries she suffered when she was trampled by fleeing students.

The suspects had managed to slip out of the gym and were arrested about three blocks away. Two were in a getaway vehicle and two others were at a nearby house, Police Chief Eddie Compass said. Darlene Claiborn said her daughter called her from inside a classroom on her mobile phone. “How can this happen in a school?” she asked.

“They have guards in there. “They are supposed to have security.”