“The Springfield City School District is deeply saddened by the loss of two of our students over the weekend. There are grief counselors available to students,” the statement said.
Superintendent Bob Hill said the district’s “thoughts are with the family, teachers, friends, neighbors and all who loved and were loved by the two students involved.”
“Times like these remind us that we are one family in the SCSD, whether students are here for their entire K-12 experience or if only for a season of their precious lives. They mean the world to us,” Hill said.
According to a Springfield Police Division report, officers responded around 11:30 p.m. on Friday to the 1200 block of Russell Avenue where the two children were shot. When police arrived, they found the two victims inside with gunshot wounds.
The two were taken to “a local hospital” for treatment but died as a result of their injuries, the report said. The shooting has been classified as a homicide according to the report’s description of the incident.
A woman who called 911 said that she heard two shots. She said that her granddaughter had been shot and that her grandson also had been shot.
When the dispatcher asked who shot them, the woman said she did not know.
The Springfield News-Sun reached out to the Springfield Police Division for more information on the homicide but was told the shooting remains under investigation and there is no suspect information available at this time, but police believe “there is no threat to the community.”
News of the shooting stirred up rumors on social media over the weekend, according to Clark County Prosecutor Daniel Driscoll. He said some residents have “taken to social media channels to share false information,” a post on his Facebook page said.
“The false claim spreads rumors about a TikTok video in which someone answering their door is shot by an unknown assailant,” Driscoll’s post said. “The claim that this is related to a local incident is not true and there is no evidence to suggest this is happening in Springfield.”
Driscoll asked that residents stop spreading the video and “do not spread” the false information about the shooting any further.
SCSD’s statement about the student deaths also mentions the TikTok video and also urges students to stop sharing the misinformation “especially during times of crisis.”
“As a community, it is our responsibility to share only what we know is fact and not careless rumors. Driscoll reported that there is no substantial evidence to support a recent TikTok video with false information about this incident and has asked everyone to stop spreading the rumor further,” the district’s statement said.
