A 15-year-old, around 8 a.m. at Marshall County High School in Benton, opened fire against fellow students, killing two of them and leaving injured at least fourteen.
The teenager was held in custody at the school, according to Kentucky State Police Commissioner Richard Sanders, in a “non-violent” way, after the tragedy.
The New York Times also draws attention to the fact that this was not the first shooting this week. They state that on Monday 15, a 16-year-old shot her 15-year-old classmate in the school’s cafeteria, in Texas. The girl was hospitalized and is currently in recovery, and the boy was in custody.
Looking for safety between tears and screams
The kids, according to Governor Matt Bevin, when they heard the gunshots, did what they have been taught to do during situations like such. The shooter came into the school with a handgun and opened fire. Some witnesses claim they saw the kids getting away from the school, crying and running down the freeway.
Some of the kids ran away to close establishments looking for safe places to call their parents or just to seek shelter; some others even jumped into unknown cars to get away as fast as possible from the crime scene. At the end of it, witnesses claim they saw chaos outside the school on the parking lots, Dusty Kornbacher, an owner of a local flower shop nearby, tells Fox News:
“It was chaotic outside the school as parents and students rushed around trying to find each other. All the parking lots were full with parents and kids hugging each other and crying and nobody really knowing what was going on.”
Kentucky Senador Mitch McConnell made a special mention to the first responders, thanking them for risking their protection and lives with the purpose of helping others get away from a violent end.
Aftermath for the victims and the shooter
A 15-year-old female student was killed right at the scene, while another 15-year-old male student, was wounded and taken to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Trauma Unit in Nashville, where he eventually died. Still, none of the names of the students are publicly announced, to respect the families’ privacy and loss.
Other fourteen students were injured by bullets as well, four of them were also taken to Vanderbilt with optimistic expectations, and the other ten brought to the local hospital. Outside factors injured two other students.
Since it is a small area, and most of the people are familiar with these kids, Governor Bevin did a pause on the news conference to make a tribute to these children that belong to their community and to ask for respect for them.
The alleged shooter is expected to be charged with murder and attempted murder. Authorities claim they could not establish an intimate relation between the shooter and the victims.
Source: Reuters