NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — Court documents have unveiled new details about the shooting that injured two 17-year-olds at Heritage High School in Newport News last September.
The new information comes just a day after 10 On Your Side learned that the suspect, 15-year-old Jacari Marques Taylor, is scheduled to take a plea deal next month.
One of the victims, a 17-year-old-boy, had gotten into a fight with Taylor before lunch. Court documents state Taylor later told authorities that the victim punched him in the face before he pulled out a gun and started shooting into a hallway with about “one hundred something” people in it.
Although the 17-year-old boy attempted to run, Taylor kept shooting at him. He later told authorities that he did it because “I didn’t think I hit him,” documents state.
The 17-year-old boy was shot in the head and leg. His fingers were also severely injured and doctors told police that the cause was likely gunfire. A 17-year-old girl who was leaving the cafeteria was also shot as she was walking down the hallway. She told police she heard gunshots but didn’t see anything.
Both teenagers were transported to Riverside Regional Medical Center, according to court records. The 17-year-old boy was later taken to Norfolk Sentara General Hospital due to his injuries.
10 On Your Side’s Michelle Wolf briefly spoke to the father of the 17-year-old teen who was shot. He didn’t want to go on camera but told us his son was traumatized by what happened, has permanent hearing loss and is trying to get on with his life. The family is also seeking legal action.
Taylor ran away from the scene of the shooting without his backpack, court records state. He ran toward the gym and then left the school through a back door. School security guards found a gun inside of a trash can just outside of the door where they believe he left the campus, court records state.
Taylor was taken to the city’s juvenile services by a family member at 2:23 p.m., after the shooting at the school. He was interviewed at police headquarters before being charged with two counts of aggravated malicious wounding and two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, as well as underage possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm on school property, discharging a firearm on school property, discharging a firearm in an occupied building, reckless handling of a firearm and carrying a concealed weapon.
Police obtained search warrants through their investigation into the shooting. One of those warrants, filed the day after the shooting, said Taylor was wearing an electronic monitoring device at the time of the shooting.