Maryland high school shooting leaves 3 injured, including shooter

A shooting at a Maryland high school Tuesday morning left three people injured, including the shooter, a sheriff's spokeswoman said.

Authorities said the situation was "contained" as deputies and federal agents converged on the crime scene.

St. Mary's County Sheriff spokeswoman Cpl. Julie Yingling said three people were hurt, including the shooter. She didn't know the extent of their injuries, but said all three were taken to hospitals and none were killed.

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."

The St. Mary's County Public Schools said the situation was "contained" after the shooting at Great Mills High School, which has about 1,600 students and is near the Patuxent River Naval Air Station, about 104 kilometres southeast of Washington.

Agents with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives joined deputies at the scene. The county sheriff said parents or guardians should stay away, urging them to go instead to Leonardtown High School to reunite with Great Mills students there.

Protests spreading

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Rep. Steny Hoyer tweeted that they're monitoring reports and urged people to follow the instructions of local law enforcement at the scene.

This latest shooting happened as many students 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.

Last month, the 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 nearby Leonardtown High.

Police said they obtained search warrants and found a cache of semi-automatic rifles, handguns and other weapons.

from CBC | Top Stories News http://ift.tt/2IDB9Of
http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Source Link