Student exiting bus was targeted by group in Coatesville ambush shooting: DA
COATESVILLE, Pa. - A teenager was arrested after prosecutors say he was among a group that opened fire on a student who was exiting a school bus Thursday in Coatesville.
Jaki White-Marshal, 17, was charged Friday with aggravated assault and related offenses in the shooting that happened on Hope Avenue just after dismissal.
Officials believe White-Marshal left school early and met up with the group near a bus stop where two shooters fired eight shots from a block away.
No one was injured in the shooting, but two bullets struck the bus, including one that narrowly missed the bus driver, who drove to Westwood Fire House for safety.
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Coatesville high school students learn virtually after bus hit by gunfire: 'We will get through this together'
Both high schools in the Coatesville School District will move to a Flexible Instruction Day after a school bus was hit by gunfire shortly after dismissal.
"There is not a single child that should ever feel like their school bus is not a safe place," Chester County District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe said.
He was clear to point out that the shooting wasn't "someone trying to shoot up a school bus," but a "targeted event" they believe stemmed from an ongoing feud.
Students at both high schools in the Coatesville School District learned virtually on Friday out of an abundance of caution.
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"This is inexcusable conduct," de Barrena-Sarobe said. "I can't even express in words how shocking it is to every single one of us that this happened in Chester County."
He urged the outstanding suspects to "get out ahead of this" and turn themselves in, and called on members of the community to share tips with investigators.
Editor's Note: In a statement to the media in the days following the shooting, an attorney for White-Marshall says in part, "Jaki was merely present to watch a fight he heard about on a social media website. He is innocent of each and every crime he has been charged with."