A 19-year-old gunman returned to a Florida high school where he had once been expelled for disciplinary reasons and opened fire with an assault-style rifle on Wednesday, killing 17 people before he was arrested by police, authorities said.
The violence erupted shortly before dismissal at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, about 45 miles (72 km) north of Miami. Live television footage showed students streaming out of the building as dozens of police and emergency services personnel swarmed the area.
The gunman was identified as Nikolaus Cruz, who previously attended the school and was expelled for unspecified disciplinary reasons, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said at a news briefing hours later. Officially initially misspelled the suspect’s first name as Nikolas but later corrected it.
"It’s a horrific situation,” Broward County Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie told reporters separately.
The gunman surrendered to police without a struggle, Israel said. Investigators believe he was armed with an AR-15-style rifle and had multiple magazines of ammunition, according to the sheriff.
"It’s catastrophic,” Israel said. "There really are no words.”
Twelve of the dead were killed inside the school, two others just outside, one more on the street and two other victims died of their injuries at a hospital, Israel said. He said the victims comprised a mixture of students and adults.
The Valentine’s Day bloodshed in the Miami suburb of gated communities with palm- and shrub-lined streets was the latest outbreak of gun violence that has become a regular occurrence at schools and college campuses across the United States over the past several years.
It was the 18th shooting in a U.S. school so far this year, according to gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety. That tally includes suicides and incidents when no one was injured, as well as the January shooting in which a 15-year-old gunman killed two fellow students at a Benton, Kentucky, high school.
***
00:30
US police officers are on the scene at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida after receiving reports of gunfire within the school.
The school is on lock down, the Coral Springs Police Department said on Twitter. Students and teachers have been advised to "remain barricaded inside until police reach you."
Lots of ambulances are present at the high school, and several people have been seen being taken out of the school perimeter on stretchers.
The Broward Sheriff Office said: "Here's what we know so far: deputies are responding to reports of a shooting at Stoneman Douglas High. There are reports of victims."
Over the first 23 days of January there were 11 school shootings, according to the New York Daily News. The tragedies have occurred so frequently that activists say the incidents have numbed Americans to the regularity of gun violence.
00:08
US police officers are on the scene at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after receiving reports of gunfire within the school.
The school is on lock down, the Coral Springs Police Department said on Twitter. Students and teachers have been advised to "remain barricaded inside until police reach you."
Icmal.Az
