By Marilyn Monroe / American Press

MOSS BLUFF — A 7 year-old Moss Bluff Elementary student was airlifted to a Lafayette hospital this morning after being shot in a classroom, said authorities.

“We believe, at this time, it was accidental. But we have to figure out who brought a gun to school, how the gun got to school and how this accident happened. We have some details right now, but it is too early to give an in-depth decision about what happened,” said Mancuso from the scene.

No other injuries were reported, and the school was placed on lockdown after the incident. 

“Everything is good here. Everyone is safe,” said Mancuso.

School superintendent Karl Bruchhaus said that the shooting occurred in a first grade classroom sometime between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. He said that it was Field Day at the school and that “the overwhelming majority of students here at the school have no idea anything happened here this morning.”

“Our teachers and administrators are ultimate professionals. They are handling this very well. The school office has extra staff to [help assist] as parents come in at any point in the day. At some point, we will be back to normal,” he said.

Bruchhaus said that there were some students in the classroom at the time of the incident and that their parents were called in individually. “We are bringing in a counseling team for those students who are part of this process,” he said.

Mancuso emphasized that as the investigation involves interviewing young children, it will take some time to “figure out what happened here” and that details may not released today.

The status of the 7 year-old victim is not known at this time

Marilyn Monroe / American Press Archives