Tuesday’s shocking school shooting in Maryland was reportedly contained quickly by an armed school resource officer.
A deputy for St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office exchanged fire with a student at Great Mills High School who shot two of his classmates in the hallway, NBC 4Â reports. The shooter was killed and one of the victims was left in critical condition.
The resource officer who engaged the perpetrator was not harmed, NBC 4 noted.
The incident reportedly began Tuesday morning when the suspect entered the southeast Maryland high school at the beginning of the school day.
Once on campus, he pulled out a gun and fired at a 16-year-old female student. A 14-year-old male student was also hit by a bullet before being confronted by the trained deputy sheriff.
The school was placed on lockdown in response to the incident. The Sheriff’s Office asked parents not to report to the school, but to pick their children up at nearby Leonardtown High School.
‘Morning Joe’ frantic over poll that shows Americans are fully aware of a ‘deep state’
There has been an incident at Great Mills High School. Parents please DO NOT respond to the school. Report to Leonardtown High School
— St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office (@firstsheriff) March 20, 2018
The male student is in stable condition, while the female student is in critical condition.
“You train to respond to this and you hope that you never ever have to,” Sheriff Tim Cameron told NBC 4. “This is the realization of your worst nightmare — that, in a school, that our children could be attacked.”
He added, “Now begins the second phase of this operation, and that’s the background and the investigation and the attempt for the school to return to normal.”
Cameron said there is currently no known motive, nor have authorities discovered a relationship between the perpetrator and the wounded.
Student Jonathan Freese told CNN the school’s police presence made him feel “safe” in the middle of the shooting.
“I do feel safe, though, because they always have police in our school and they’re ready for something like this,” Freese said.
The teenager also remarked that “It’s something they couldn’t really prevent because they only have a couple officers, but they’re really well-trained officers. There could have been more casualties.”
Local law enforcement asked anyone with information about the case to call an FBI line.
Anyone with information regarding the Great Mills High School shooting please call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324)
— St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office (@firstsheriff) March 20, 2018
The incident took place days ahead of Saturday’s March for Our Lives. The nation-wide event will have its main rally in Washington, D.C. and call for an end to school shootings through gun control.
Activists associated with March for Our Lives, including Parkland students Emma Gonzalez and Jaclyn Corin, pointed to the Great Mills shooting as evidence that more restrictive gun laws are needed.
We are Here for you, students of Great Mills 💗 together we can stop this from ever happening again https://t.co/bkzL1FcVgu
— Emma González (@Emma4Change) March 20, 2018
Less than a WEEK ago Great Mills High School students walked out with us to protest gun violence…now they’re experiencing it for themselves. The state of our country is disgusting – I’m so sorry, Great Mills.
— Jaclyn Corin (@JaclynCorin) March 20, 2018
Others argued that the resource officer’s speedy elimination of the threat demonstrated the importance of having armed personnel in schools–something President Trump has called for.
https://twitter.com/RealJack/status/976110904428376064
https://twitter.com/Education4Libs/status/976121141365374976
LET ME REPEAT MYSELF:
The Great Mills High School shooter was stopped by a gun.
The armed school resource officer saved lives & is a hero.#TuesdayThoughts
— #ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) March 20, 2018
An armed resource officer engaged a school shooter today and stopped the shooting after only two injuries. This is why we need armed guards in every school in America.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) March 20, 2018
An "armed school resource officer" took down the Great Mills High School shooter, saving countless lives.
This is why it's so important that our schools are not "gun free zones."
— Alana Mastrangelo (@ARmastrangelo) March 20, 2018
This is exactly why we need skilled, armed resource officers in every school! https://t.co/zUFLYE62fz
— Ryan Fournier (@RyanAFournier) March 20, 2018
https://twitter.com/TyEducatingLibs/status/976115428538765312
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