Counselors greet Indiana students after shooting

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (AP) — The Latest on an Indiana middle school where a shooting took place last week (all times local):

11:30 a.m.

Students were greeted by counselors, school staff and comfort dogs as they returned to a suburban Indianapolis middle school five days after a 13-year-old girl and a teacher were shot and wounded there.

Noblesville Schools spokeswoman Marnie Cooke says counselors and local principals met students Wednesday “to provide more familiar faces” as they returned to Noblesville West Middle School.

The school is operating on a shortened schedule through the end of the school year Friday, so officials can focus on counseling students still shaken by the shooting.

Officials say a male student seriously wounded classmate Ella Whistler last Friday then was tackled by science teacher Jason Seaman. Ella remains hospitalized in Indianapolis. Seaman was shot but not badly hurt.

Cooke says Seaman wasn’t at school when students returned Wednesday.

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10 a.m.

Students are streaming back into a suburban Indianapolis middle school five days after officials say a male student shot and wounded a 13-year-old classmate and a teacher who’s credited with disarming the assailant.

Scores of cars and more than a dozen buses dropped children off Wednesday morning at Noblesville West Middle School, where classes were resuming two hours later than usual.

At least three police vehicles are positioned on the school’s campus. Some school buses appeared to have only a few students on board.

Science teacher Jason Seaman has been hailed for tackling the shooter after he seriously wounded 13-year-old Ella Whistler on Friday morning. She remains hospitalized in Indianapolis. School officials say her condition is improving.

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1 a.m.

A suburban Indianapolis middle school is set to resume classes five days after a male student allegedly shot and wounded a 13-year-old classmate and a teacher who’s credited with disarming the assailant.

Noblesville West Middle School is scheduled to reopen Wednesday morning on a two-hour delay.

Noblesville Schools’ spokeswoman Marnie Cooke says it will operate on the same shortened schedule as the district’s final two days of classes Thursday and Friday. Cooke says the school will focus on counseling and “team building” over the final three days of the school year.

Science teacher Jason Seaman is credited with tackling the male suspect after he shot and seriously wounded 13-year-old Ella Whistler Friday morning. She remains hospitalized in Indianapolis. School officials say her medical condition is improving.