Teen charged, 3 others sought, after gunmen shoot bus with students on board: DA

A 17-year-old boy is in custody and police are searching for three other suspects after masked gunmen opened fire at a school bus with children on board in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, officials announced Friday.

Jaki White-Marshall, 17, of Coatesville, was arrested and charged as an adult with aggravated assault and other offenses.

Léelo en español aquí

The incident occurred on Thursday, Oct. 10, around 2:30 p.m. Investigators said White-Marshall and three other suspects -- all wearing masks and dark clothing -- were on Hope Avenue in Coatesville. Two of the suspects then pulled out weapons. One gunman fired six shots while another fired two shots at a school bus that was stopped about a block away on Hope Avenue and Madison Street, investigators said.

Students from the Intermediate High School and Senior High School of the Coatesville Area School District were on board at the time.

One bullet struck the front grill of the bus while another bullet struck the windshield above the bus driver. No one was hurt in the incident.

The bus driver drove to the Westwood Fire Company in Coatesville and contacted police. Meanwhile, the four suspects fled the scene.

Investigators later identified White-Marshall as one of the suspects in the shooting. The teen was later taken into custody.

Chester County District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe said White-Marshall is a student in the Coatesville Area School District who was targeting another student who was getting off the bus.

"Our investigation shows that this is not some sort of school shooting or someone trying to shoot up a school bus or a drive-by," Barrena-Sarobe said. "This was a targeted event where the actors were targeting someone getting off the bus. This was not some sort of threat to attack a school or a random act of violence and we are approaching the investigation that way.”

Police continue to search for the three other suspects. Barrena-Sarobe had a message for them during Friday's press conference.

“Get ahead of this. Go to your families. Go to your religious leaders here in Coatesville. And come into the Coatesville police department and turn yourself in," he said. "“We have an idea of where this investigation is going. And this is your chance to put the community at ease. Because there is not a single child that should ever feel like their school bus is not a safe place.”

While Barrena-Sarobe did not reveal if the other three suspects attended Coatesville Area High School, he said the shooting stemmed from a personal feud between students.

“This is where we are as a society. Where kids have access to guns at an unbelievable rate that they are subjected and feel subjected to ridicule on social media and other circles," Barrena-Sarobe. "And we are left in a position where we have kids leaving school early apparently to gang up and go shoot at somebody. This is just one symptom that we are seeing across the region and across the country that kids have access to guns and we need to do something about it.”

In response to the incident, the school district said that both schools would operate on what they called a Flexible Instruction Day on Friday, Oct. 11.

"We have spoken with the students who were on the bus to check on their well-being and will continue to stay in close communication with their families, offering full support services as needed," Coatesville Area School District superintendent Dr. Van Vooren said in a statement. "We would also like to express our gratitude to the Krapf school bus driver and the first responders for their quick and professional response to this situation."

Out of an abundance of caution, the football game between Downingtown High School East and Coatesville Area High School was also canceled.

In an announcement on Facebook, the Downingtown Area School District said that a makeup date will be decided in the future.

If you have any information on the shooting, please call Coatesville Police at 610-384-2300.