Student dies after shooting outside Baltimore high school

From staff and wire reports

BALTIMORE, Maryland -- A student died after being shot three times outside a city high school Wednesday in what police said was a premeditated attack.

A spokeswoman for Johns Hopkins University Hospital said Juan Matthews, 17, died at 2:42 p.m. EST at Johns Hopkins Hospital where he was taken following the shooting at Lake Clifton Eastern High School. Matthews was a 9th grader at the school, police spokesman Kevin Enright said.

Matthews was shot with a small-caliber pistol while standing near a flagpole in front of the school's main entrance, police commissioner Edward Norris said. The gun was not recovered.

Two students from another city school were detained for questioning shortly after the 8:45 a.m. shooting on the school grounds, police said.

Witnesses said one suspect fled into a wooded area surrounding the school and jumped into a car waiting on the other side. The car was pulled over by police a few blocks away and both suspects were being questioned.

Police would not discuss a possible motive for the shooting.

"All I can imagine is that this is something that came from the community and spilled over onto school grounds," said area schools superintendent Barry Williams.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

See related sites about US

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.