A Starkville teenager was found dead Tuesday behind Sudduth Elementary School near Evergreen Street.
Starkville police issued a welfare concern Tuesday morning regarding a 16-year-old male. Authorities now believe his fatal injuries were self-inflicted, Starkville Police Department Public Information Officer Brandon Lovelady said, and no foul play is suspected.
At the time authorities issued the welfare concern Tuesday, it was believed the minor may have had a weapon, Lovelady said.
Oktibbeha County Coroner Michael Hunt said the victim’s body has been sent for autopsy but did not comment on cause of death.
Sudduth and Henderson Ward Stewart elementary campuses, along with Emerson preschool, followed “shelter-in-place” protocols for several hours Tuesday after police informed Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District of the investigation, SOCSD spokesperson Nicole Thomas said. That means students and staff were allowed to move inside the facilities as normal, but entering and exiting those buildings were limited.
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