Photo courtesy of CNN.
Summary: A student was arrested after alleging shooting up his high school in Santa Fe, Texas.
On Friday morning, at least 10 people were murdered at Santa Fe High School in a horrific shooting spree. The Houston Chronicle reports that at least a dozen others were injured. One suspect was arrested and a second person detained. Both are students of the school.
Senior law enforcement said that the dead include 9 students and 1 staff member. A database maintained by the Washington Post said that Friday’s massacre was the worst mass shooting in the US since the February 14th killing in Parkland, Florida. CNN said that this is the 22nd school shooting since the beginning of the year.
The shooter had a AR-15-style rifle, a shotgun, pipe bombs, and a pistol; and he began shooting a little after 7:30am when classes started. A source told the Houston Chronicle that the scene of the crime was a “bloody mess.”
“Officers inside encountered a bloody mess in the school,” the source said. “Evidently this guy threw pipe bombs all in there. We don’t know if any of them went off.”
Angelica Martinez, 14, said that she and her classmates were evacuated in a manner that felt like a fire drill.
“We were all standing (outside), but not even five minutes later, we started hearing gunshots,” Martinez said to CNN. “And then everybody starts running, but like the teachers are telling us to stay put, but we’re all just running away.”
The bombs did not go off, but authorities are warning people in the city to not touch any items that seem out of place. It is unclear where the suspect had planted other devices.
CNN said that the second person detained was believed to be an accomplice. The arrested suspect was 17-years-old, according to USA Today.
Santa Fe High School is located in Santa Fe, which is about 20 miles outside of Galveston, Texas.
On Friday, President Donald Trump addressed the high number of school shootings, saying, “This has been going on too long in our country. Too many years. Too many decades now.”
Trump added that his administration was determined to keep students safe and that federal authorities are cooperating with local law enforcement.
“My administration is 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,” Trump said. “May God heal the injured and may God comfort the wounded.”
Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Republican, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Republican, said they would travel to Santa Fe on Friday.