Florida Shooting: Suspect In Custody, At Least 17 Dead
PARKLAND, Fla. (AP) -- The Latest on a shooting at a Florida high school (all times local):
5:20 p.m.
A federal official has identified the Florida school shooting suspect as Nicolas Cruz.
The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The official says he had been briefed on the investigation into the shooting at the South Florida high school, but was not authorized to discuss it publicly.
Authorities in Florida say the shooter opened fire at the school Wednesday afternoon, killing "numerous" people. The shooting sent frightened students running out into the streets and SWAT team members swarming the building.
Authorities later announced that they had taken a former student, about 18 years old, into custody after locating him off the school grounds.
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5 p.m.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel says the Florida high school shooting suspect is a former student about 18 years old.
He says the suspect was arrested without incident off school grounds in a nearby community. He didn't elaborate on when the suspect had attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parikland.
A shooter opened fire at the school Wednesday afternoon, killing "numerous" people, sending students running out into the streets and SWAT team members swarming in before authorities took the shooter into custody.
Israel says the FBI has arrived and will begin processing what he describes as "horrific scene."
He called it a "catastrophic day."
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4:40 p.m.
Parents described scenes of chaos as they rushed to find their frightened children after a shooting at a South Florida high school.
Caesar Figueroa says he was one of the first parents to arrive at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, seeking his 16-year-old daughter after the shooting there.
A shooter opened fire at the school Wednesday, killing several people and sending students running out into the streets as SWAT team members swarming in. Authorities later reported they had taken the shooting suspect into custody.
Figueroa says: "It was crazy and my daughter wasn't answering her phone."
According to Figueroa, she texted him that she was hidden in a school closet with friends after she heard gunshots.
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4:25 p.m.
A school official says there are numerous fatalities from the high school shooting in South Florida.
Broward County Superintendent Robert Runcie says "There are numerous fatalities. It is a horrific situation." He added, "It is a horrible day for us."
The Broward County Sheriff's Office tweeted Wednesday afternoon that "so far we have at least 14 victims." The tweet added: "Victims have been and continue to be transported to Broward Health Medical Center and Broward Health North hospital."
The sheriff's statement didn't elaborate on the victims or their injuries.
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4:15 p.m.
The White House has canceled its daily press briefing after a Florida high school shooting that sent students rushing into the streets.
President Donald Trump has spoken with Florida Gov. Rick Scott about the shooting. He says in a tweet that the White House is "working closely with law enforcement on the terrible Florida school shooting."
He earlier tweeted his condolences to the families of the victims.
Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says Trump has offered Florida federal assistance, if needed. The homeland security secretary has also been in touch with state and local officials.
Sanders says, "We continue to keep the victims, and their friends and family, in our thoughts and prayers."
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4:10 p.m.
Authorities say the shooter at a South Florida high school is now in custody.
The Broward County Sheriff's Office gave no details in briefly tweeting that development. It did not identify the shooting suspect nor say how the person was taken into custody.
Television footage showed police putting a person in the back of a police car outside the high school.
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4 p.m.
Parent John Obin says his son, a freshman at the South Florida high school where the shooting erupted, says his child was in class when he heard several shots. The father says his son advised that teachers quickly rushed students out of the school. He adds the boy told his father that he walked by two people on the ground motionless -- and apparently dead -- as students rushed outside.
"This is a really good school, and now it's like a war zone," Obin said
Coral Springs Police said on their Twitter account Wednesday that Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was locked down and that students and teachers inside should remain barricaded until police reach them.
Outside, televised news footage showed two people on stretchers and another person being treated on the ground at an intersection near the scene of the school. Paramedics were treating those who appeared to be students with injuries, but it wasn't clear how they were hurt. A few students were loaded into ambulances.
One unidentified student told a reporter at the scene that at first students thought it was a fire drill because they had heard fire alarms going off.
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3:55 p.m.
A shooting at a Florida high school Wednesday sent students rushing out into the streets as SWAT team members swarmed in and locked down the building, and police warned the shooter was still at large. Ambulances converged on the scene as emergency workers appeared to be treating possibly wounded people on the sidewalks.
Television footage showed police in olive fatigues, with weapons drawn, entering the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, then dozens of children frantically running and walking quickly out. A police officer waved the students on, urging them to quickly evacuate the school.
Some students exited the building in single-file rows with hands raised overhead to show they carried no weapons. Others held onto other students as they made their way out past helmeted police in camouflage with weapons drawn.
Emergency medical personnel pulled stretchers from the backs of ambulances as police cars surrounded the parking lot. At least one person was seen being wheeled to the ambulance on a gurney. It wasn't immediately clear how many people were wounded.
Coral Springs Police said on their Twitter account Wednesday that the school was locked down and that students and teachers inside should remain barricaded until police reach them.
The Broward County Sheriff's Office tweeted that the shooter was still at large even as the evacuation was underway.
