High school student arrested after a Coatesville school bus was struck by gunfire

A 17-year-old high school student from Coatesville has been arrested after a district school bus was struck with gunfire Thursday afternoon, Chester County District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe said Friday.

The shooting occurred at 2:30 p.m. Thursday when two bullets struck a school bus in the front grill and windshield as the bus was dropping off high school students on 300 block of Charles Street. Neither the bus driver nor the students on board were injured, said Coatesville Police Chief Jack Laufer, who said the students were held two miles from the scene at Westwood Fire Company until they could be reunited with their families.

» READ MORE: Coatesville school bus hit by gunfire, football game canceled as precaution, officials say

Jakai White-Marshall, a 17-year-old Coatesville Area Senior High School student, has been charged with aggravated assault in relation to the shooting, said de Barrena-Sarobe at a news conference. He said the district attorney’s office is seeking to try him as an adult. Bail has yet to be set, and White-Marshall was being held at a local detention facility.

White-Marshall was one of four people believed to be involved in the crime, in which eight shots total were fired. Coatesville police “are actively investigating the identities of the other three” suspects, said Laufer. During Friday’s news conference, a photo reportedly taken just seconds after the shots were fired was projected to reporters. It showed four people in black outfits and ski masks fleeing.

“This is not some sort of school shooting. This was a targeted event where the actors were targeting someone getting off the bus,” said de Barrena-Sarobe. “We believe there is personal feud between students at the school.”

De Barrena-Sarobe said he hoped Coatesville Senior and Intermediate High School students would be back in the classroom Monday. The district called for a day of remote learning for students at both schools on Friday following the shooting. A football game scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday between Coatesville and Downington East was canceled as “a precautionary measure,” the Downingtown Area School District said.

Classes and activities at Coatesville’s ’s middle and elementary schools continued as usual.

“We have spoken with the students who were on the bus to check on their well-being and will continue to stay in close communication with their families, offering full support services as needed,” Coatesville Area School District superintendent Catherine Van Vooren wrote in a letter sent to district parents. “We will get through this together.”