More officers around high school day after innocent student grazed by bullet from shootout

By Shelley Childers

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    HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Extra police officers have been assigned to patrol a north Houston high school campus a day after a shooting wounded an innocent student after graduation practice.

“HISD Police will have an increased presence at North Forest HS and are working diligently to ensure that all involved are held accountable,” school district officials said Wednesday in a statement. “HISD remains committed to vigilantly protecting students and staff at our schools.”

Minutes after high school seniors had finished rehearsing for their upcoming graduation ceremony, people in two vehicles got into a shootout Wednesday outside the school, authorities said.

It wasn’t clear how many officers were being dispatched to the school Thursday or how many normally patrol the campus.

North Forest High School senior Joshua Geegan was grazed by a bullet and suffered an injury to his middle finger. His injury was minor and he was treated at the scene.

“Why me?” Geegan said in an exclusive interview with ABC13’s Mycah Hatfield. “Why at the school? Multiple kids could have gotten hurt. Or why in general? It’s a crazy situation that happened.”

Witnesses said they saw a grey Ford truck and a maroon Chrysler on the southwest corner of the campus in the parking lot involved in the shootout. The vehicles then left the campus and continued firing as they drove down Mesa Drive.

Geegan was in the driveway attempting to pull out of the school’s front lot when he got caught in the crossfire.

“I’ve been thanking God that he kept me alive here today, because the incident/tragedy could have been much worse,” Geegan said hours after he was hit.

Lopez said that police tracked down the grey Ford truck with bullet holes in the side panel in the 8100 block of Sterlingshire in a residential area.

Authorities found an 18-year-old inside, who was detained for questioning. Family identified him as a North Forest senior.

Authorities were still looking for the maroon Chrysler.

North Forest High School’s last day of school is on Friday and their graduation is set for Saturday, June 12 at 2 p.m. at Delmar Field.

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