UPDATE: West Orange High Students Offered Counseling After Shooting
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
By: Matthew Peddie

December 4, 2013 | WMFE - Students at West Orange High School are being offered counseling after a shooting Wednesday. A 15-year-old boy was recovering in hospital after being shot in the face and abdomen.

Evening activities on campus at West Orange High were cancelled, and today grief counsellors are available for students who want to talk about the shooting. 

The school was locked down while police and sheriff's deputies searched for the suspect, a 17-year-old who was also a student at West Orange.

He was arrested after several hours. 

In a press conference after the incident Orange County Public Schools superintendent Barbara Jenkins thanked school staff and law enforcement for their quick response. 

“We are convinced that with this entire community’s support we can keep our children safe, said Dr. Jenkins.

"We think our record is good we think we responded swiftly to something that could not be foreseen. Mostly we are thankful that the student is ok.” 
 
The Orange County school board says it’s also working with a consulting firm to carry out security risk and vulnerability assessment of all schools in the district.
 
In the meantime, the school board says it will continue with random metal detection at schools county-wide. 
 
It’s one of several enhanced security precautions introduced nearly a year ago. 

Schools nationwide were reviewing security in the wake of a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Connecticut last December. 

Talking to reporters after yesterday's shooting, Sheriff Jerry Demings praised the actions of a school resource officer who was on campus at the time.

"She immediately instituted what we call active shooter protocols," said Demings.

"At that point nearly 100 law enforcement officers from the sheriff's office and surrounding agencies responded to West Orange High School to contain the situation."

The argument happened in the bus loop as students were being let out just after 1pm.