st. LOUIS (AP) — A gunman broke into a St. Louis high school Monday morning, shooting dead a woman and her teenage girl and wounding six others before police killed him in a shootout.
After the 9 a.m. shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, students had to barricade doors, huddle in corners of classrooms, jump out windows, and out of buildings to seek safety. I didn’t. One terrified girl said she made eye contact with the shooter before the gun apparently stopped working.
At a press conference, Police Commissioner Michael Sack said the shooter was about 20 years old, but did not provide the names of him or his victims. did not answer.
St. Louis school superintendent Kelvin Adams said the school had seven security guards at the time, each at a locked entrance to the building. I noticed you were trying to get in from the , but you couldn’t get in. Security officials notified school officials and confirmed they had contacted police, Sack said.
“The security guard’s timely response and the fact that the door paused the suspect bought us time,” Sack said.
Sack declined to say how the man got inside.
After working to get the student out of the three-story brick building, officers “ran to the sound of the guns, found the gunman, exchanged gunfire with the gunman” and killed him, Sack said. said.
Several of the six hospitalized had gunshot wounds, while others were hit by shrapnel, Sack said. He provided no information on their condition.
One student, 16-year-old Taniya Gholston, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that she was in the room when the shooters entered.
“All I heard was two shots, and he came over there with a gun,” Golston said. We made contact and his gun was jammed so I figured it out, but we saw blood on the floor.”
Nylah Jones, a 9th grader, told the Post-Dispatch that she was in math class when a shooter fired into her room from the hallway. The shooter was unable to enter the room and banged on the door as students crowded into the corner.
Janey Douglas’ 15-year-old daughter was stuck in a hallway when school closed. Douglas said her daughter called her and told her she heard gunshots.
“One of her friends burst through the door and he was shot in the hand. Then she and her friend ran. The phone hung up,” Douglas said. “I was on my way.”
The shooting shook St. Louis Mayor Tishaula Jones.
“Our kids don’t have to go through this,” Jones said at a press conference. “You don’t have to have active shooting drills just in case something happens. And unfortunately, it happened today.”
Central Visual and Performing Arts High School is a magnet school specializing in visual, musical and performing arts with approximately 400 students. According to the district’s website, the school’s “educational programs provide high-quality academic and artistic education for students to succeed at the post-secondary level and to thrive in the world of work.” It is designed to create a nurturing environment that receives.”
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