Jacob Hall, the 6-year-old boy who was critically injured in a shooting at Townville Elementary School in South Carolina last week, has died in hospital.
The first-grader had sustained a brain injury in the shooting on Wednesday and was flown to Greenville Memorial Hospital’s Children’s Hospital, where his condition was critical throughout the rest of the week. Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore confirmed that he had died at 12:46 p.m. on Saturday.
His brother Gerald Gambrell called his sibling a “soldier” in a Facebook tribute.
He was one of three people shot on campus Wednesday. Teacher Meghan Hollingsworth and another 6-year-old boy were released from the hospital, but the bullet wound to Jacob’s thigh led to brain trauma due to massive blood loss, the New York Daily News reports.
His parents released a statement on Saturday that thanked first responders, WISTV reports.
“We appreciate the community’s support, especially the Townville Rescue Squad who treated Jacob onsite and brought him to the hospital,” said his parents, Rodger and Renae Hall. “We appreciate everyone’s thoughts and prayers and ask for privacy during this difficult time.”
The couple later issued a separate statement paying tribute to their son and his forgiving nature.
“We know that Jacob has already forgiven this child for what he did to him and his family because that’s the kind of child he was,” they said. “Jacob was sent to this Earth for this short a period of time to show us that there is such a thing as pure love. Jacob is in heaven with God now and everyone who loves him. Words cannot express how much we will miss him.”
Police charged a teen as a juvenile Friday on suspicion of opening fire on the campus Wednesday and killing his father, 47-year-old Jeffrey Osborne, in a home two miles away. He is charged with one count of murder and three of attempted murder. It wasn’t immediately clear whether police would lay fresh charges on Saturday.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Jacob’s family with costs.