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Shots fired outside school; 1 charged

Thursday, May 8, 2008
(Updated 9:39 am)

GREENSBORO - One teenager was arrested Wednesday after gunshots were fired just feet away from an elementary school where children were playing outside. No one was injured.

About 2 p.m. Wednesday, school resource officers working at Dudley High School heard gunshots fired from the intersection of Tuscaloosa and Dunbar streets in front of Bluford Elementary School, said Assistant Police Chief Ron Rogers.

Witnesses told police that four male teenagers had run from the area to a home in the 1700 block of Dunbar Street.

Dexter Levoy Pittman, 17, was arrested at 1726 Dunbar St. A handgun was found at his residence, police said.

Pittman was charged with possession of a firearm on educational property.

Capt. Janice Rogers said the shooting was the result of a fight between two groups of teenagers . Police believe some of them are Dudley students, but Pittman is not a student at Dudley, Rogers said.

There was no indication of gang involvement, she said.

At least three shell casings were recovered from the sidewalk that runs in front

of Bluford, but police are unsure who fired the gun, she said.

"No one saw (Pittman) fire," Rogers said. She noted that detectives think Pittman picked the gun up from the street and ran with it to his home .

Pittman is expected to be the only person charged in the incident unless police find out who fired the gun, Rogers said.

Pittman was released from jail into the custody of a guardian Wednesday.

The shooting forced both Dudley and Bluford to lock down until 3 p.m. Students were later released as scheduled.

Amos Quick , a member of the Guilford County Board of Education, said he rushed to the area after getting a text message about the gunshots from his daughter, who is a student at Dudley.

Guilford County Schools officials said three classes of third-graders were playing outside when the shots were fired.

Quick said the teachers took the children inside the building and out of harm's way.

Through a school district spokesman, Bluford principal Stephanie Boykin said she was very proud of the teachers for their quick thinking. Boykin declined to comment further.

Quick said the shooting made him angry, both as a parent and as a school board member.

"It's a sad day when people don't respect the sanctity of a school," he said.

"The safety of our kids is priority number one, and I don't think we appreciate and respect sometimes everything our teachers and principals have to go though."

Contact Ryan Seals at 373-7077 or ryan.seals@news-record.com

Accompanying Photos

Nelson Kepley

Photo Caption: The school district recently announced the curriculum at four elementary schools including Bluford will be remodeled.

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