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14-year-old charged with father's death, shooting 3 at South Carolina grade school

By Andrew V. Pestano and Doug G. Ware

GREENVILLE, S.C., Sept. 30 (UPI) -- A teenage suspect accused of opening fire at an elementary school in South Carolina, injuring three, now faces charges of murder and attempted murder.

The 14-year-old boy, who was arrested for the shootings on Wednesday, faces one charge of murder in the death of his father and three counts of attempted murder for injuring two boys and a teacher at Townville Elementary School, prosecutors said Friday.

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Police are investigating possible motives, but said the teen was home schooled and possibly bullied. His father, Jeffrey Dewitt Osborne, 47, was found dead at home from multiple gunshot wounds from a .40-caliber weapon.

RELATED Wednesday: Teacher, 2 boys injured in S.C. grade school shooting

Jacob Hall, one of the boys, sustained a major brain injury due to blood loss and has been placed on life support, his family said.

Jacob, 6, is receiving treatment in the intensive car unit at Greenville Memorial Hospital. The boy was shot in the leg while on the playground.

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Jacob was listed in critical condition Thursday night.

"Jacob is a very sick little boy and is fighting for his life. Due to the massive blood loss he has sustained a major brain injury," the family said in a statement. "Jacob is in very critical condition, and we are hanging on every second."

Jacob Hall, 6, is on life support at Greenville Memorial Hospital's intensive care unit in South Carolina after he was shot in the leg on Wednesday, allegedly by a 14-year-old gunman. Another boy and a teacher were wounded in the attack. Photo courtesy Travis Paige/Rodger Hall/GoFundMe

In a Facebook statement, South Carolina State Rep. Alan Clemmons, who said he was a family friend, said the bullet "ripped through little Jacob's femoral artery," adding that Jacob died twice and was revived twice. Clemmons called on people to join him in "fervent prayer for little Jacob's recovery" as he faces multiple surgeries.

Gerald Gambrell, one of Jacob's older brothers, said the family is "waiting and hoping for a miracle."

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"He's a wonderful kid. He doesn't deserve any of this at all. No child in this world deserves this," Gambrell said. "It's just heartbreaking and miserable that it happens to be my little brother."

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South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley flew to Greenville to meet with the family and also called the mother of another injured student and the students' teacher who was shot in the shoulder as she tried to get the children to safety during the incident.

Friends and family describe Jacob as a happy, loving 6-year-old who prayed every night for the people in his life.

"He comes in Sunday school every Sunday morning with just a smile on his face," Tim Marcengill, Oakdale Baptist Church's associate pastor, told The Greenville News. "He'll make you laugh and tell you he loves you. And he loves the Lord, and he knew that the Lord loves him.

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