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Parent hit by bullet during dismissal time at elementary school in Portsmouth

A mother was hit by gunfire outside Douglass Park Elementary School.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WVEC) -- A mother was hit by a stray bullet Monday afternoon when she was picking up an elementary school student at dismissal time.

Officers said emergency dispatchers received a call about the incident near Douglass Park Elementary School on Grand Street around 4:25 p.m.

Police believe the woman was not the intended target. Investigators believe that she was walking in the area when she was shot.

Portsmouth Public Schools spokeswoman Cherise Newsome told 13News Now the school remained on modified lockdown late Monday because staff and students were in the building for after-school programs.

"Parents were so scared," said Shaterra Williams, a mom of two girls who are students.

An increased police presence was also at the school, and the administration notified parents about what happened via an automated system.

Medics took the mother to the hospital with an injury to her upper thigh.

Detective Misty Holley with the Portsmouth Police Department the woman is in stable condition.

No one is in custody at this time, and the incident is still under investigation.

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