At least 17 students have been shot dead and dozens injured by a 19-year-old during a sporadic shooting at a South Florida high school on Wednesday.
The shooting was carried out by a former student identified as Nikolas Cruz, 19, who had been expelled for disciplinary reasons, authorities said.
It was gathered that the suspected gunman, who was equipped with a gas mask and smoke grenades, set off a fire alarm to lure students before shooting.
The attacker used the fire alarm “so the kids would come pouring out of the classrooms into the hall and there the carnage began,” Sen. Bill Nelson told CNN
“He was quickly arrested without incident after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
“Cruz had made disturbing posts on social media before the attack.
“Cruz was armed with at least one AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and countless magazines,Officials think he acted alone,” Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said.
Governor of Florida, Rick Scott described the incident as evil, noting that investigation would determine how a former high school student came to be armed with such a powerful weapon.
He ordered government flags flown at half-staff through Monday in honor of victims of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, a public school of some 3,000 students outside Boca Raton.
“The school is closed for the rest of the week,The district will offer grief counseling to students and their families.
“This has been a day where we’ve seen the worst of humanity.
“You come to the conclusion that this is just absolutely pure evil,” he said.
One of the students, Hannah Siren, 14, who was in math class on the third floor of the freshman building, where at least part of the shooting reportedly happened, said all 10 students in the next door class were shot dead.
“The people next door to us must have not locked their door, they all got shot, seven to 10 victims, Hannah said breaking into tears
Samuel Dykes, a freshman, added that he heard gunshots and saw several bodies in a classroom on the third floor.
Christina added: “I don’t want to go back to this school. I can’t go up the stairs. There’s blood on the stairs.”
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