Kesgrave shooting: Gun found in schoolboy attack inquiry

A "long-barrelled gun" has been recovered by police investigating the shooting of a 15-year-old boy on his way to school.

The victim was shot at about 08:40 BST on the Grange Farm estate in Kesgrave, Suffolk, on Monday.

The Year 11 Kesgrave High School pupil is in a critical condition and a 15-year-old boy is under arrest.

Supt Kerry Cutler said police were not looking for anyone else in connection with the shooting.

She said: "We have arrested an individual that we believe is involved in the incident and we also recovered a weapon."

The suspect, who is said to be from the Woodbridge area, was arrested by armed police on suspicion of attempted murder.

Detectives have been granted a superintendent's extension to detain him for questioning for an additional 12 hours.

Suffolk Police said the two boys were known to each other and there was nothing to suggest the shooting was linked to organised criminality.

The force said a boy was seen getting into a car following the attack.

Officers added that a car had been seized and "a long-barrelled firearm was recovered from inside it".

A temporary police station has been set up in Kesgrave and Supt Cutler said there was a large police presence, including officers from other forces.

Supt Cutler said: "Everybody is shocked, Kesgrave is on the outskirts of Ipswich, it is almost a semi-rural area, it's very much a residential area, this is not something we've seen in that area before and people will be impacted by it.

"The investigation goes on and we're still appealing for anybody who saw anything or has any information to come forward."

Suffolk Police said it was thought a single shot was fired on Friends Walk, off Through Jollys.

Friends Walk remains closed off as police searches continue. Through Jollys and Ropes Drive reopened on Monday evening.

The injured boy was airlifted to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.

A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said the victim's parents tended to the boy after he had been shot.

"They were very distraught, nothing like this ever happens in the estate," he said.

Former paramedic Richard Bennett, who lives near the scene, said he heard the gunshot and thought "what on earth was going on".

"As the day went on the tragedy unfolded, a 15-year-old boy had been shot, it's unbelievable," he said.

Ellie, whose brother is in the same year as the victim at Kesgrave High, said local people were in "disbelief".

She said: "I've grown up here and went to Kesgrave High and I had an absolutely blissful experience there, and this area in Kesgrave it's thought of as such a safe place, there's children everywhere, there's families everywhere, it's not somewhere you'd ever think this would happen."