Classes at Pittsburgh Oliver Citywide Academy will be remote until Monday following the shooting death of a 15-year-old student Wednesday afternoon outside the North Side school.
Marquis Campbell, who was shot in the chest, initially was reported to be in critical condition after the shooting at 1:45 p.m. Pittsburgh Public Safety officials announced his death at 5:24 p.m.
UPDATE: The victim in this shooting has been pronounced deceased in the hospital. https://t.co/1Z49wAnf0X
— Pittsburgh Public Safety (@PghPublicSafety) January 19, 2022
In a separate statement, Pittsburgh Public School District officials said initial reports showed Marquis was wounded after “two people approached a school van at dismissal and shot into the van.” Police said he was sitting in the van with a driver, who was not hurt.
Paramedics took Marquis to Allegheny General Hospital, where he died.
The district locked down the school before dismissing students around 4 p.m. No one else was injured.
Pittsburgh police said they are seeking two suspects in the shooting. No arrests have been made.
At a news conference Wednesday night, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and Interim Superintendent Wayne Walters implored people with information about the shooting to come forward and assist investigators.
“There’s never a time that our kids should go to school and not be able to return home to their parents and caregivers,” said Gainey.
“I’m directing my police force to go out there and use all the police force that is necessary to ensure that we find out what’s going on and bring people to justice for this heinous and criminal act," he said.
Walters said Marquis had been enrolled at Oliver since he entered third grade.
"His smile was contagious and lit up a room," he said. "His sense of humor was infectious, and the staff members said staff are inconsolable at this time because they loved him so much."
Added Walters: “Today was nothing short of a tragedy."
Student support services staff and other assistance providers will be available to all who need them, the superintendent said.
The school in the Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood is a full-time special education center serving grades 3-12.
