Md. School Shooting: Shooter Dead At Great Mills High School, 2 Others Injured
BALTIMORE (WJZ/AP) — A student shooter is dead and two other students are hurt after the student opened fire at Great Mills High School in St. Mary's County Tuesday morning, Sheriff Tim Cameron says.
Just before classes were set to begin Tuesday, a male student shot and wounded a female student and a male student with a handgun in the hallway, according to Cameron.
The 14-year-old male student went to MedStar St. Mary's Hospital and is in good condition, according to the hospital.
The female student was transported to Shock Trauma in critical condition and the shooter was pronounced dead at 10:41 a.m. at University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center in La Plata Cameron says.
A school resource officer exchanged shots with the shooter, according to Cameron.
Great Mills High School has about 1,600 students and is about 65 miles southeast of D.C.
Parents are being advised to not report to the school and instead report to the auditorium at Leonardtown High School. Students are being evacuated from Great Mills High School and being bused to the reunification center at the Leonardtown High School campus.
The Baltimore Sun reported that a student said the shooting happened around 8 a.m. Terrence Rhames, 18, told the Sun that he heard a gunshot and saw a girl fall as he ran for an exit. "I just thank god I'm safe," Rhames said. "I just want to know who did it and who got injured."
Special Agents from the ATF Baltimore Hyattsville I and II field offices are en route to the scene.
"We are closely monitoring the situation at Great Mills High School," said Governor Larry Hogan in a statement. "Maryland State Police is in touch with local law enforcement and ready to provide support. Our prayers are with students, school personnel, and first responders."
Maryland Congressman Steny Hoyer also released a statement saying he is closely monitoring the reports.
"My prayers are with the students, parents, and teachers," said Hoyer. "Please follow instruction from local law enforcement responding on the scene."
The shooting happened as many students across the country are calling for action against gun violence in schools, leading up to Saturday's March For Our Lives rally in the nation's capital. Protests have been spreading around the nation since a teenager with an assault rifle killed 17 people at a Florida high school on Valentine's Day. Threats against schools have proliferated as well, and Great Mills High has not been immune.
Just last month, the school's principal, Jake Heibel, told parents in a letter posted on the local news site The Bay Net that two students were interviewed after they were overheard mentioning a school shooting, and they were found to pose no threat. Heibel said the school increased its security nevertheless after social media posts about a possible school shooting "circulated quite extensively."
Also last month, St. Mary's County Sheriff's office said it arrested two teenage boys for "Threats of Mass Violence" and a 39-year-old man on related charges after the teens made threats about a potential school shooting at Leonardtown High School, a high school about 10 miles from Great Mills. Police said they obtained a search warrant that led to them finding semi-automatic rifles, handguns and other weapons, along with ammunition.
This is a developing story.
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