The suspect allegedly set off the school’s fire alarm before the shooting.
- At least 17 people were killed and 15 injured after a shooter opened fire in a South Florida high school on Wednesday afternoon.
- Police have identified the suspected gunman as a former student, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz. Cruz was expelled from the school for “disciplinary reasons.”
- A popular football coach is among the dead.
- The attack marks the 18th school shooting of 2018.
A troubled former student armed with an assault-style rifle returned to his Parkland, Florida high school on Wednesday and opened fire, killing at least 17 people and injuring 15, officials said.
Officials said the suspected gunman, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, first began shooting outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, located about 24 miles from Fort Lauderdale, before barging inside. Wearing a gas mask and armed with smoke grenades, he pulled a fire alarm in order to lure students out of classrooms, according to Florida Sen. Bill Nelson (D), who said he had been briefed by law enforcement. Cruz then bombarded students and staffers with bullets before blending in with the panicked crowd to escape.
“He went up and down the hallway just banging and shooting into the classrooms,” one student, Natalie, told CBS News. “He shot through my door and broke my window.”
Madison Sheib, a 15-year-old sophomore at the school, was working on a study sheet in her math class when she heard gunshots. She first thought they were the sounds of chairs being shuffled on the floor above her. When she and other students realized what it was, they ran for cover.
“We ran into a corner and turned off all the lights,” Sheib told HuffPost. “We just kept hearing gunshots and screaming.”
The school, in the suburban community about 15 miles northwest of Fort Lauderdale, was quickly placed on lockdown. Police detained Cruz nearly two hours later, just before 4 p.m. Eastern time, according to the Broward County Sheriff’s Department.
Three victims remain at Broward Health North hospital in critical condition, while three others are in stable condition, hospital officials said just after 7 p.m. Among the dead is a high school football coach, who police declined to name but family and friends identified as assistant coach and security guard Aaron Feis. The son of a deputy sheriff was wounded.