A shooting Tuesday morning at Marshall County High School, located in a rural community about 120 miles northwest of Nashville, has killed two and injured many more, according to Governor Matt Blevin.
Tragic shooting at Marshall County HS…Shooter is in custody, one confirmed fatality, multiple others wounded…Much yet unknown…Please do not speculate or spread hearsay…Let’s let the first responders do their job and be grateful that they are there to do it for us…
— Matt Bevin (@MattBevin) January 23, 2018
The shooting was reported at around 8 A.M. The shooter is reportedly in custody and the scene was secured by the Kentucky State Police as of 10:11 AM. The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are currently on scene investigating.
UPDATE: School Shooting: The scene is secured, the suspect is in custody, and we will be providing updates periodically as information is obtained and confirmed.
— KY State Police (@kystatepolice) January 23, 2018
The end of the shooting saw three victims initially taken to the hospital and two medical helicopters thus far have landed at the school. Marshall County Tribune-Courier wrote that “parents are being asked not to try and pick up students from Marshall County High School. We have been told there have been arguments between law enforcement and parents trying to get inside. The school remains on lockdown and no one is being allowed inside either entrance.”
My thoughts & prayers go out to the students & faculty at Marshall County High School where there has been a tragic school shooting.
— James Comer (@JamesComer) January 23, 2018
Marshall County High School is within forty miles of Heath High School, where 14-year-old Michael Carneal killed three and injured five by opening fire on praying students in December 1997, two years before the infamous Columbine massacre.
The shooter has been revealed to be a 15-year-old student at the high school, who had a handgun and was reportedly working alone. Arrested without resistance, he will be charged with both murder and attempted murder. Marshall County Attorney Jeffrey Edward says it does not appear that the shooter targeted any specific people.
“To walk in, the backpacks laying around, the phones laying around, going off […] it’s indescribable,” Edwards said. “I’ve been doing this for 25 years. It’s not like anything I’ve experienced in my life.”
Brian Roy, former Marshall County sheriff, says the shooting occurred in a common area before classes started.
16-year-old survivor Lexie Waymon says,“I blacked out. I couldn’t move. I got up and I tried to run, but I fell. I heard someone hit the ground. It was so close to me- I just heard it and then I just, everything was black for a good minute. Like, I could not see anything. I just froze and did not know what to do. Then I got up and I ran.”
Waymon ran all the way to a McDonald’s, which was over a mile away, as fast as she could.”All I could keep thinking was: ‘I can’t believe this is happening. I cannot believe this is happening,'” she said.
Up to a hundred students made it to the McDonald’s, running and jumping into cars. Manager Mitchell Garland describes them as “running and crying and screaming.”
Gov. Bevin flew in from Lewisville to the scene as quickly as he could. One 15-year-old girl died on scene and another 15-year-old boy died at the hospital after being shot in the head, he stated in a press conference. 14 people were shot in total and five of the wounded were flown about 100 miles to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. The rest of the wounded are expected to live, it was reported by the center.
On the tragedy, Bevin said, “This is a wound that will take a long time to heal. For some in this community, it will never heal.”
In a separate statement, he stated that it was “unbelievable that this would happen in a small, close-knit community like Marshall County. As there is still much unknown, I encourage people to love on each other at this time.”
“Any act of violence at a school or involving children and youth is intolerable,” Accomando said. “And no parent should fear for the safety of their child every time they leave home.”
Giffords echoed this sentiment. “Why do we keep allowing this terror to happen?” she asked in an official statement. “Congress can protect our kids in their classrooms, in the cafeteria, and on the playground — but to do that they must strengthen our gun laws.”
