Manhunt for suspect after North Carolina high school shooting
Parent of student at Winston-Salem's Mount Tabor high school speaks with 'The Story'
The mother of a girl who was in class at the Winston-Salem, N.C., high school where there were reports of a shooter on the campus around lunchtime Wednesday praised law enforcement and school officials for their handling of the developing situation.
Tanya Wiley, whose daughter attends Mount Tabor High School, said the two spoke just before she went on air on "The Story."
"It has been unnerving. My daughter was just on the phone with me a few moments ago. She's trying to preserve her battery because she's been at school all day and her battery is starting to get low. She said there was another altercation inside the auditorium where they were being held on lockdown. It's been an unnerving day," said Wiley, who added her husband is one of many parents now waiting at a nearby Harris Teeter supermarket where the children were taken for safe haven.
"Initially they were told to go to the YMCA to pick up the kids. Then they were told to go to Harris Teeter. Once he got to the Harris Teeter, you know, something else happened. So it's just been one thing after another. Just very frightening," she said.
When Wiley's husband originally went to the YMCA, helicopters appeared overhead, and shortly after he received a call from the school's automated phone system redirecting parents to the grocery plaza.
"I don't know if that had anything to do with the fact that the shooter is at large and perhaps the shooter may be in that area. I don't want to speculate. We have excellent law enforcement out there and they're doing their jobs. Certainly, the school has been phenomenal keeping everyone in the loop. It doesn't take the fast heartbeat that I have right now -- until my daughter is home and safe, my heart will continue to be really fast," Wiley said.
"We pray every morning. So we know that she's covered in prayer."
Wiley added that her daughter recounted a fight at the school on Tuesday, and was just about to get into specifics when the school's automated system dialed her phone on air.
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