At least two students are dead and another 19 injured after a 15-year-old male student opened fire inside a Kentucky high school Tuesday morning.
Officers with the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department responded to the shooting at Marshall County High School in Benton around 8 a.m. CT.
The suspect, whose name wasn’t released, was arrested on site and will be facing two murder charges and several charges of attempted murder, Kentucky State Police Commissioner Rick Sanders said at an evening press conference.
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Kentucky governor, other officials issue statements on school shooting
At an afternoon press conference, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin confirmed a male and a female student died and 14 others suffered gunshot wounds as a result of the mass shooting. Five remained in critical condition as of Tuesday evening, but officials said they were expected to survive.
Five others suffered non-gunshot injuries.
Sanders identified the two deceased victims as Bailey Nicole Holt and Preston Ryan Cope.
Bevin had earlier said at least one person was dead and “multiple others wounded” in the incident.
“Of the 14 that received gunshot wounds, two have passed away. One was deceased at the scene. That student was a 15-year-old female,” Bevin said at the press conference. “A second student, also 15 years old, a male, passed away at the hospital.”
The governor added authorities believe all gunshot victims were students of the school and not faculty. The 15-year-old alleged shooter was taken into custody without incident.
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Speaking at the press conference, Kentucky State Police Commissioner Rick Sanders said the student, who was armed with a handgun, entered the school just before 8 a.m. and started shooting.
One student told the Associated Press the accused shooter was “determined.” Alexandria Caporali said she grabbed her stunned friend and ran into a classroom as their classmates hit the floor
“It was one right after another — bang bang bang bang bang,” she added. “You could see his arm jerking as he was pulling the trigger.”
He kept firing, she said, until he ran out of ammunition and took off running, trying to get away.
The commissioner said students and faculty were recently trained on how to respond to this sort of situation.
“At 7:59 a.m. the first 911 call came in. At 8:06 a.m., first responders arrived at the high school,” Sanders said. “The students at that school did exactly as they were trained.”
A local business owner said hundreds of students fled the school, jumping into cars and running down a highway.
“They was running and crying and screaming,” said Mitchell Garland, who provided shelter to between 50 and 100 students inside his nearby business. “They were just kids running down the highway. They were trying to get out of there.”
Sanders did not identify the alleged shooter but said he will be charged with murder and attempted murder.
Bevin later issued a statement calling the shooting a “tremendous tragedy and speaks to the heartbreak present in our communities.”
“It is unbelievable that this would happen in a small, close-knit community like Marshall County,” the governor said.
Bevin advised people “not to speculate, but come alongside each other in support and allow the facts to come out.”
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Kentucky State Police also confirmed that there were multiple victims and one victim was pronounced dead on scene. Authorities later said the second victim died in hospital.
The FBI said the agency is assisting local law enforcement agencies.
Kentucky’s commissioner of education, Stephen Pruitt, issued a statement saying the department of education is “prepared to provide whatever support they need in the wake of this tragedy” to the Marshall County school officials.
“Please join me in keeping Marshall County High School and the community in our thoughts and prayers in the wake of this morning’s tragic school shooting,” Pruitt said in a the statement.
State police said a Marshall County deputy was responsible for the capture of the shooting suspect, though the police force did not provide further details.
Kentucky’s Secretary of State, Alison L. Grimes, called the shooting a “horrific situation.”
“Please keep those involved & first responders in your hearts right now. Prayers to Marshall County,” Grimes said on social media.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also said he was tracking the “tragedy” in Benton.
“My thoughts are with the students, teachers, faculty, and the entire community. Thank you to the first responders who continue to put themselves in harm’s way to protect others,” McConnell tweeted.
Benton is about 190 kilometres northwest of Nashville.
In 1997, a school shooting shocked the nearby community of Paducah after a student opened fire on a morning prayer group, killing three teenage girls and injuring five others. Michael Carneal, 14, was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years after pleading guilty in 1998.
Tuesday’s shooting comes a day after a 16-year-old male student opened fire in a Texas high school, injuring at least one person.
Ellis County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call of an active shooter at Italy High School at around 8 a.m. local time.
The sheriff’s office said a 15-year-old female was injured as a result of the shooting and was airlifted to a nearby hospital.
–with a file from the Associated Press
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