A six-year-old child critically injured in a US school shooting has succumbed to his wounds days after a 14-year-old boy opened fire on an elementary school playground in South Carolina, authorities said.
The pupil, identified as Jacob Hall, died Saturday after fighting for his life at a hospital following the Wednesday shooting, during which a bullet punctured a main artery in his leg resulting in a major brain injury due to a "catastrophic" loss of blood, AP reported, citing the deceased boy’s doctor.
According to local authorities, Jacob was shot and wounded -- along with another student as well as a first-grade teacher -- at Townville Elementary School by the teenager, who had just murdered his father at their home.
After killing his father, the unidentified teen — who is not old enough to have a driver's license — drove a pickup truck nearly three miles before crashing it at the school, where he began firing with a handgun.
The victims were shot as a door opened for recess, said the school administrators, adding that another teacher who heard the first gunshot was able to get other students safely inside.
The young shooter was charged as a juvenile on Friday with murder and three counts of attempted murder.
Authorities have not released a motive for either of the shootings.
Jacob died around 1 pm on Saturda, while he was surrounded by his family at Greenville Health System Children's Hospital and an autopsy will be performed on Sunday, according to his parents and the local coroner.
Jacob's parents thanked the nurses and doctors who cared for their son in a statement, adding, "Jacob came into our lives six years and four months ago and changed it completely. He showed us how to love, laugh and smile even on days we did not want to."
"God gave him to us and he was taken away from us by a senseless act. We know that Jacob has already forgiven this child (the shooter) for what he did to him and his family because that's the kind of child he was."
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