Lawrence police still looking for teenage suspect 2 months after shooting outside elementary school

LAWRENCE, Ind. — Despite one person being in jail, police are still searching for a 16-year-old suspect connected to a shooting at an elementary school earlier this year in Lawrence.

Lawrence police were called on March 5 to Harrison Hill Elementary School and found a high school student shot in the lower leg. That victim survived and told police he had been shot during a fistfight between a group of teens outside the school.

A witness told police that they saw the gunman flee from the scene after getting into a car with a female driver.

According to the affidavit filed in the case, 16-year-old Sanjuan Forte is accused of the shooting and faces charges in adult court of battery with a deadly weapon.

Court records also claim Forte was seen getting into a car driven by 21-year-old Vanessa O’Brien and fleeing the scene of the crime.

Police found that getaway car a short time later, and although Forte was no longer in the vehicle, police did find a distinctive red hoodie which witnesses say was worn by the suspected shooter.

Prosecutors also claim Forte was seen on social media wearing that same shirt and posing with a gun before the shooting.

“We want the public to be as safe as possible and not to be the victim of this foolish behavior,” said Lawrence police captain Michael Sostre.

Because a warrant has been active against Forte since March, Lawrence police are asking for the public’s help to track down the accused gunman.

“So we have this young man who has been on the run for a couple months and we want to do whatever we can to get him in custody so he has his day in court,” said Sostre.

Although video allegedly showed the shooter get into her car, O’Brien repeatedly denied being involved in the incident.

O’Brien, who is charged with assisting a criminal, was first arrested last week.    After being released from jail on a $500 bond, she failed to show up to court.  That resulted in a new warrant being issued and O’Brien being arrested a second time on Monday.

O’Brien is temporarily being held without bond at the Marion County jail.

Once arrested, Forte’s bond has been set at $40,000.

Anyone with information on Forte’s location is asked to contact Lawrence police or Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS.