This is the 28th shooting on school property this year alone in the United States, and it was the deadliest.
Trigger warning: This story contains themes of gun violence that some readers may find disturbing.
Three students were killed and eight others injured in a school shooting at a high school in Oxford, Michigan on Tuesday. Law enforcement officers responding to the situation have taken a 15-year-old sophomore student into custody.
"I think this is every parent's worst nightmare," says Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The incident marks the 28th shooting on school property, and is the deadliest school shooting this year, according to Education Week.
Authorites say 11 people were shot and three killed, according to the New York Times. The students who are deceased have been identified by authorities as Tate Myre, 16; Hanna St. Julian, 14, and Madisyn Baldwin, 17. A 47-year-old teacher was the only adult who has been shot, with the others ranging between the ages of 14 and 17. Three students remain in critical condition with gunshot wounds.
The Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard says his office had received more than a hundred 911 calls within minutes of reporting the incident.
"The only information I had is he came out of a bathroom with the weapon and I don't know where he went first," said Bouchard later at a press conference, per CNN. Bouchard claims the 15-year-old was taken into custody within minutes of law enforcement officers reaching the location.
"As they were coming down the hall, they saw him. He put his hands up, they took a gun and they took him into custody," says Bouchard.
A semiautomatic handgun, 9MM Sig Sauer SP2022 pistol, was taken from his possession by law enforcement, which was later confirmed to have been bought by the boys' father four days before the shooting. It was loaded at the time of confiscation and contained seven rounds.
Authorities say the 15-year-old fired 15-20 shots. "At this point in time, we believe he acted alone," says McCabe. More than 25 agencies and nearly 60 ambulances responded to the shooting at the school Tuesday, says John Lyman, public information officer for the Rochester Hills Fire Department.
The teenager's parents hired an attorney and have not permitted him to talk to police, says Undersheriff Michael G. McCabe. He is currently being held at Oakland County Children's Village — a juvenile detention facility — and is on suicide watch where he is being checked on every 15 minutes, according to David Coulter, the Oakland County executive.
The authorities executed a search warrant at the suspect's home on Tuesday, seizing a phone among other things which are now being examined. Investigators have confirmed they are also looking into his social media activity to detect any motive behind the shooting. "We are going to do a deep dive on the social media and all the activities of this young man," says Bouchard.
A child shot nine people at an Oxford, Michigan, high school today - killing three - and pundits will say the solution is MORE GUNS.
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) November 30, 2021
It’s a failed experiment: There are 400M guns in the hands of civilians here. If more guns made us safer, we’d be the safest nation in the world. pic.twitter.com/CHmO87a6BX
“No one should be afraid to go to school, work, a house of worship, or even their own home," says Governor Whitmer addressing the school shooting. "This is a time for us to come together and help children feel safe at school.”
She describes school shootings as a "uniquely American problem" and a "public health crisis." Dana Nessel, the attorney general of Michigan, also called on Congress to address gun violence. “We must act to properly address gun violence in our schools and the ongoing threat of another unconscionable tragedy if we continue to only offer thoughts and prayers. Our kids deserve better,” says Nessel.
Students locked themselves inside their classroom and bolted the doors as soon as it became apparent that there was a live shooter on campus. Some of them armed themselves with whatever they could find including calculators and scissors.
Eva Grondin, a 15-year-old sophomore, says the active shooter drills held at the school earlier helped the students. “The school made sure that we knew where to go, who to call and how to act,” she says. “If we didn’t have this training I don’t know what would have happened.”
This is a developing story, and we’ll update as we learn more.Considering the frequency in developments, some of the information/data in this article may have changed since the time of publication.
