ALBEMARLE, N.C. — Students at Albemarle High School returned to class Wednesday morning, one day after police said a classmate opened fire and shot a fellow student twice.
FULL COVERAGE: Student shot at Albemarle High School
The suspect in the shooting, Jalen Russell, is in a juvenile detention center while the student he shot, Bernard Miller, was still recovering at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte at last check.
On Wednesday morning at 7 a.m., the Stanly County School District's superintendent, Albemarle High School's principal and more than 20 teachers gathered to update the public on how the school was dealing with the shooting.
They made it clear they are not going to let the shooting impact classes in any way.
Superintendent, Dr. Terry Griffin said classes would resume as scheduled and extra counselors will be on hand along with additional law enforcement.
She wanted to let parents know that school campuses throughout the county were safe.
In her statement, Principal Jessie Morton said the shooting "Does not define us, it will only strengthen us."
Friends describe Miller as an outgoing, athletic young man who plays high school football. A friend of the victim's family said he had emergency surgery Tuesday and is expected to be OK.
Channel 9 talked to a friend of Miller's who said she is grateful he survived and that none of the other students was hurt.
"Life can change just that fast in the blink of an eye. That could have been anybody," said Kayla Frick.
Albemarle Police Chief William Halliburton said at 7:40 a.m. Tuesday, police received a call from the high school in reference to shots being fired.
They had officers on the scene within minutes.
When they arrived, they found one person had been shot, Halliburton said. The victim, who also was a student, was shot twice: once in the hip and once in the lower abdomen.
PHOTO TIMELINE: Shooting at Albemarle High School
He said they had a suspect in custody immediately. The chief said the gunman immediately dropped the gun and surrendered.
Halliburton said the school resource officer, who is an Albemarle police officer, took the suspected gunman into custody. In a later press conference, Halliburton said the gunman dropped the gun, went inside the school and turned himself in to the principal.
The community came together Tuesday night to hold two vigils for 16-year-old Miller. One of those vigils was at North Albemarle Baptist Church. That's the same place parents were told to go moments after the shooting while the school was still on lock down Tuesday morning.
IMAGES: Vigil at North Albemarle Baptist Church
The pastor told Channel 9 he opened the doors for parents, students and the community so that they could have a place to connect.
Students Channel 9 spoke to said a shooting on their campus is one of the scariest things they've been through, and many of them said they were praying for Miller's full recovery.
School officials said they're satisfied with how they responded to the shooting Tuesday, but Halliburton said lessons can always be learned, and that every step before and after the shooting will be reviewed.
The shooting on campus raised several questions about security. The superintendent said that because it happened before the first bell rang, staff and police were already nearby.
Social media updates: Police say 1 shot at Albemarle High School
She said they used a new panic button system that was just installed in all Stanly County schools this summer, and credits that as one of the reasons they were able to respond so quickly.
Halliburton said the school resource officer was also close. The superintendent told Channel 9 that the school does not utilize metal detectors.
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