Teen wounded in Elizabethton drive-by shooting, suspect sought

ELIZABETHTON — Elizabethton police are looking for a suspect who shot a teenage boy Thursday during a drive by. Elizabethton Police Chief Jason Shaw said the teen was walking on Church Street around 1 p.m. when a car drove by and a shooter opened fire. The shooting occurred near the intersection of Church and South Lynn streets, close to Douglas Park. He said the teen was alert and walking, with non-life threatening injuries. The youth was transported by EMS to a local hospital. Shaw said the police had security video images of the vehicle involved in the shooting. He said the vehicle information has been shared with neighboring law enforcement agencies. He said the description of the vehicle has not yet been made available to the public. Shaw also said there appeared to be an "exchange of gunfire" at the scene of the shooting. Initial reports indicate the teen was also armed at the time of the shooting and fired back at the moving vehicle. At this time, officers believe the shooting was an isolated incident involving a vehicle occupant who was targeting the boy. The occupant has not yet been identified, and the investigation is ongoing. When police investigators arrived at the scene of the shooting, they found several shell casings. Each piece of evidence was marked with a yellow indicator and there were many of those in the road and also neighboring properties, including the Elizabethton City Schools administration building. A car parked in the parking lot appeared to have been struck by a bullet. There were also bullet holes found on the exterior walls of the building, including a bullet hole through an aluminum rain gutter. Elizabethton City Schools went on lock down Thursday after the incident, according to officials. School officials said the lock down had been lifted as of Thursday afternoon. Superintendent Richard VanHuss said there was no threat at any time to the administration building or other schools. "No threat was made or existed at any school system building, but all buildings were placed into a soft lockdown out of an abundance of caution at the request of the Elizabethton Police Department," he said. Officers said they do not believe the shooting presents an ongoing threat to the community and will release more details as the investigation unfolds.