Another US school shooting
At least 10 people confirmed killed as student opens fire on his fellow Texas pupils
Image: Screengrab
A least 10 people were killed when a student opened fire at his Texas high school on Friday (18/05/18), as President Donald Trump expressed heartbreak over the latest deadly school shooting in the United States.
The shooting took place as classes were beginning for the day at Santa Fe High School in the city of the same name, located about 50km southeast of Houston.
“There are multiple fatalities,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez told reporters.
“There could be any number, but at least 10 people died, the majority being students.”
At least six people were hospitalised, including a police officer, Santa Fe school district police chief Walter Braun said.
Hospital officials said one victim was in a critical condition.
Braun also said explosive devices had been found in the school and surrounding areas and warned people to exercise caution.
The male teen suspect in custody was not immediately identified. Media reports said he was 17 years old.
A second possible person of interest was being questioned, Gonzalez told reporters.
WATCH: Santa Fe High School shooting in Texas - Shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas - May 18, 2018
The shooting is the latest in what has become an all-too-familiar situation in American schools, where gun violence has become a part of everyday life.
Earlier this year, 17 students and staff were killed at a Florida high school – a massacre that prompted survivors to launch a grassroots campaign against gun violence.
A sombre Trump expressed sadness and heartbreak over the latest shooting spree.
“This has been going on too long in our country,” the president said, speaking at an event on prison reform at the White House.
“We’re with you in this tragic hour.”
Trump said his administration was “determined to do everything in our power to protect our students, secure our schools, and to keep weapons out of the hands of those who pose a threat to themselves, and to others”.
The Santa Fe shooting came three months after the shooting at Marjory Douglas Stoneman High School in Parkland, Florida, which sparked a student-led movement for tighter gun laws.
“We cannot let this continue to be the norm,” tweeted Delaney Tarr, a student at Stoneman Douglas.
“We cannot.”
I should be celebrating my last day of high school, but instead my heart is broken to hear of the tragedy at Santa Fe. We cannot let this continue to be the norm. We cannot.
— Delaney Tarr (@delaneytarr) May 18, 2018
