Two Texas 13-year-old girls were the victims of a random shooting Friday while walking home from school in the rural town of Wichita Falls, Cosmopolitan reports. According to News Channel 6, Lauren Landavazo and Makayla Smith were rushed to a hospital after the attack, and Landavazo did not survive the shooting. Smith is now in stable condition.
The shooting took place at 3 p.m. in the middle of the street while the girls were on their way home from McNeil Middle School.
After police received eyewitness descriptions of the shooter, they were able to track and arrest suspect Kody Lott, according to the New York Daily News. Lott was arrested on a weapons charge but later confessed to shooting Landavazo and Smith.
Landavazo’s uncle Darin Dodd told the Daily News, “While we have some relief, it still does not bring her back, it does not take away the pain, but it does help this community to know that their kids can get to school and not live in fear.”
Superintendent Michael Kuhrt of the Wichita Falls ISD released a statement on Facebook saying that grief counselors will be brought in to help students recover from this tragedy.
Lott is currently residing in the Wichita County Jail, and faces a murder and assault charge in addition to possession of a prohibited weapon.