Pittsburgh Juvenile Dies After Being Shot Inside School Van

January 20, 2022

A 15-year-old male student was shot and killed while sitting inside a school transport van.

The City of Pittsburgh announced on Wednesday that at 1:45 p.m. local time Marquis Campbell was outside of Oliver Citywide Academy, where he was a student at the full-time special education center serving grades 3 through 12, and inside the school van with the male driver at the time of the shooting. A public relations officer for the Department of Public Safety confirmed that the vehicle was not a “mini-van or a shortened bus.”

All students at the school, according to the district website, have an Individualized Education Plan. It is a “highly structured school with a school-wide behavioral management system to support the positive behavioral support plans for each student,” the website adds.

According to Pittsburgh Public Schools, two people approached the van at dismissal and shot into the van. Campbell was reportedly shot in the chest and transported to Allegheny General hospital in critical condition.

Pittsburgh Public Safety later confirmed via Twitter that Campbell was pronounced dead at the hospital. Mayor Ed Gainey and Interim Superintendent Wayne Walters of Pittsburgh Public Schools addressed the community during a press conference.

Virtual Press Conference with Mayor Ed Gainey and Interim Superintendent Wayne N. Walters https://t.co/d87ZWIfKQ9

— Office of the Mayor (@TheNextPGH) January 19, 2022

“I stand with the leaders of this school, as a former principal I know the possibility of an incident like today, is what keeps us up at night,” Walters said.

Following the incident, the school went into a brief lockdown. Additionally, Oliver Citywide Academy transitioned to virtual learning until Jan. 24 due to COVID-19.

No other information on the motive or who the suspects are has been released at this writing.