Florida middle school shooting during awards ceremony leaves 1 dead; police say

No student was involved in the fatal shooting at the North Marion Middle School

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One person was killed in a shooting at a middle school in Marion County, Florida during a school awards program on Wednesday evening, police said.

Officials with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office announced in a press release that the shooting happened at North Marion County Middle School in Citra, Florida, which is 30 miles south of Gainesville, on Wednesday evening.

Authorities said that the shooting happened shortly before 7 p.m.

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North Marion Middle School

A man has died after a shooting near North Marion Middle School in Citra, Florida, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office. (Marion County Sheriff's Office)

The local sheriff's office said that the "shooting incident" happened directly outside the school in the school's parking lot.

Police said that one adult male shot another adult male during an altercation in the parking lot. Exactly what led to the shooting was not immediately clear.

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The one adult male was transported to a local hospital, but was later pronounced dead. The other adult male that is suspected of being involved has been taken into custody.

The victim's name and the name of the person who was detained were not immediately released.

police car lights

The Marion Sheriff's Office said that the shooting happened during an awards ceremony at North Marion Middle School.  (iStock)

Police said that despite the middle school awards show taking place at the time of the shooting, no children were injured.

The sheriff's office said that the award show was canceled following the shooting. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to North Marion Middle School for comment.

Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. 

She is a native of Massachusetts and is based in Orlando, Florida.

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Authored by Sarah Rumpf-Whitten via FoxNews May 22nd 2024