COLUMBIA, S.C. – A 6-year-old boy who was critically wounded in a school shooting died Saturday, days after a 14-year-old boy opened fire on a school playground, authorities said.
Jacob Hall had been fighting for his life at a hospital after a bullet struck him in a main artery in his leg, causing him a major brain injury due to the loss of blood. Jacob died about 1 p.m., Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore said. The hospital will release more details about his death, the coroner said.
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Authorities say the teenager killed his father on Wednesday and drove a pickup truck a few miles to Townville Elementary, where he started firing a handgun. Jacob, another student and a first-grade teacher were wounded. The teacher and the other student were treated and released from a hospital.
Jacob has been surrounded by his family at Greenville Memorial Hospital since he was wounded.
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“Jacob was going to do great things, and because of a senseless crime that nobody will probably ever really know why, that little life is cut short,” his great-aunt Rebecca Hunnicutt told WYFF-TV before his death. “Jacob is one of these kids that you’d swear was carved out of cream cheese. He is as beautiful on the inside as he is on the out.”
The teenager was charged as a juvenile Friday with murder and three counts of attempted murder. The Associated Press typically does not identify juveniles charged with crimes.
Authorities have not released a motive for either shooting.