A shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglass High School in Parkland, Florida has left a total of 17 people dead. At least 14 more were injured and taken to the hospital, according to Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel.
Among the victims are both students and teachers. 12 people were fatally shot inside the school building, three died in the immediate surrounding area, and two died after they had been transported to a hospital, according to Israel in a press briefing.
This incident marks the eighteenth school shooting so far in 2018, according to The Independent.
It is currently the ninth deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, according to a CNN report.
The shooting began around 2:30 p.m. Just before shots were fired, the fire alarm went off. The school went into immediate lockdown following the shots. Footage shows students and staff frantically running out of the school around that time.
The suspect was apprehended around 4:15 p.m.
After the shooting, people lied on the ground outside the school as they were treated for injuries and moved onto ambulances.
The suspect has been identified as 19-year-old Nikolaus Cruz, a former student who had been expelled last year for disciplinary reasons. He is currently in police custody.
Cruz was believed to have an AR-15 assault rifle and “countless magazines”, but it is unclear whether he was carrying other weapons, according to officials.
He was able to make his way to campus and carry out the shooting despite police presence at the high school.
The school had previously identified Cruz as a potential threat, banning him from campus. “There were problems with him last year threatening students,” said Jim Gard, math teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in an interview with the Miami herald.
President Donald Trump commented publicly on the shooting over Twitter. “My prayers and condolences to the families of the victims of the terrible Florida shooting. No child, teacher or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an American school,” he wrote.
Florida senators Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson also commented on the incident. “Our worst fears are being realized. It looks like it’s a number of fatalities. Praying for all those students, families and school members affected at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School," Nelson wrote in a Twitter post.
