Former student is shot at Brockton High School

The shooting occurred at 4:50 p.m. after school had let out for the day, but the building remained open for students and community members, according to School Superintendent Matthew Malone.

The victim - Lionel Brown, 17, who dropped out of school last year - was shot once in each leg and was taken to Caritas Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton with serious injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening, police Lieutenant Thomas LaFratta said.

Hospital administrators would not release his condition last night.

The shooting took place near the gymnasium. Police would not say if the victim was shot inside or outside the building.

Nearby, about 100 students were trying out for the boys and girls basketball teams. Brown was not involved in the tryouts.

Nonstudents, like Brown, are not allowed inside the school, Malone said.

Police were searching for a 5-foot-9 teenage boy who witnesses said fled on foot and is still at large. Police say the suspect knew Brown, who was targeted in the attack. Neither police nor Malone would say if the suspect was a student.

Sara Ramondetta, 34, was picking up her son, a freshman, when she saw the crowd gathered around the scene.

“It makes you worry,’’ she said. “There was a shooting by our house two weeks ago, but my son plays hockey and doesn’t get involved in any of that.’’

Brockton High’s 4,400 students makes it the largest high school in the state, Malone said. The school’s sprawling campus has seven buildings and a nine-member school police department.

“This is a safe school,’’ Malone told reporters at the scene.

But senior Kantara Myers said that students often resolve their disputes violently.

“That’s how people settle things,’’ Myers said. “It’s normal for Brockton. Somebody just got shot like last week.

“The only thing that scares me is that the person is still on the run.’’

John M. Guilfoil can be reached at jguilfoil@globe.com.