Local News

SAN BRUNO (CBS 5 / KCBS / AP / BCN) ― Police searched Wednesday for three suspects who fled a San Bruno community college campus after a shooting that left a 20-year-old Skyline College student wounded.

The shooting happened about 1:30 p.m. when two groups of teenagers got into an argument in a parking lot at Skyline College.

"There had been an altercation between two groups of African American males in Parking Lot 6 and that during that altercation, shots were fired," San Bruno police Cmdr. Marc Catalano said.

Jennifer, a 19-year-old student who did not want to give her last name, said she was coming out of class when the shooting occurred.

"I heard a lot of popping noises," she said, and then saw three males running out of the Pacific Heights parking lot near Building 5 toward the main campus. One had a gun and wore a black hooded sweatshirt, she said.

Police said the shooting appeared to be an isolated incident and did not believe any other students or faculty were targets; no other injuries were reported.

Catalano said the three suspects fled the campus on Pacific Heights Boulevard in a car with a paper license plate.

"The suspects involved in this fled north from the parking lot in a possible fluorescent purple Ford Escort," said Catalano. "The suspects are described as three African American males, 18 years old."

One suspect was wearing a white shirt, another other a red shirt and the third a black-and-white shirt, Catalano said. One of the trio also had dreadlocks, he added.

As of Wednesday evening, police said the suspects had not been caught.

The wounded student stumbled from the parking lot into the school's Learning Center after the shooting. He was taken to San Francisco General Hospital with a gunshot wound to his buttocks; the injuries were described by authorities as not life-threatening. The victim was treated and released, according to Catalano.

Andrew Lidwell, editor-in-chief of The Skyline View student newspaper, told CBS 5 that when the young man ran into the Learning Center, he was bleeding from the lower torso and screaming that he had been shot.

"He barged right in screaming, 'I got shot,'" added student Edward Reyes, 21, who was also among the witnesses.

The college was locked down for about two hours after the shooting, until officers could safely evacuate the approximately 3,000 students and staff members on campus, according to Catalano.

Leslie Shelton, director of the Learning Center, said the school sent text messages to students, alerting them of the situation and telling them to take shelter where they were.

Catalano said police then checked each building and car on the campus thoroughly as they searched for the shooter.

Student Carlo Cervantes, 20, said police escorted him and his friends out of a building after they witnessed the victim being taken away on a stretcher. Officers made the students exit the building with their hands up to show they were not a threat, he said.

The school canceled afternoon classes when the shooting was reported, and evening classes were canceled as well, according to Barbara Christensen, spokeswoman for the San Mateo County Community College District. No decision had been made about Thursday's classes, she said.

Fall semester classes started at the school on Aug. 19, Christensen said. About 10,000 students are enrolled this semester, she said.

Skyline College will remain closed Thursday as police continue to investigate the shooting. Classes are scheduled to resume Friday, college district spokeswoman Barbara Christensen said.

Students who left personal belongings on the campus Wednesday may pick them up Friday at the Public Safety Office in Building 6, according to school officials.

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