Two students have minor injuries after apparent shooting

TAMPA (FOX 13) - Two Middleton High School students were recovering Friday after they were hit by bullets fired a block away during dismissal.

The shots were fired a little after 3 p.m. at the intersection of N. 24th Street and E. Curtis Avenue, just as students were leaving school.

Two senior classmates were hurt: a 17-year-old girl was hit in the leg by a ricocheting bullet, while an 18-year-old girl had her foot grazed by a bullet.

"At this point, we don't know if the gunfire came from a passing car, we don't know where it came from," said Steve Hegarty, a Tampa Police spokesperson, adding it's unclear if the victims were the intended targets or caught in the line of fire. "It's a very dangerous thing. It's something that happened off campus. We would like to think that we have enough safeguards in place that students are not going to do anything dangerous or stupid on campus. This happened off campus, but we need to find out if any students were involved if it was someone else who was involved."

The shooting comes on the heels of the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 14 students and three faculty members were killed earlier this week.

Middleton parents found it hard not to think about the shooting in Broward County during this incident.

"I'm a nervous wreck. I'm scared. I mean, [my son] goes to school right across the street. Who could say it could happen to my kid? And I don't want that to happen," said Sean Rooker, whose son is a senior at Middleton. "I'm petrified to even come out of my house because of the fact of this going on."

Investigators have not yet identified any suspects. Anyone with information should call Tampa Police.