The suspected gunman was killed by police after slaying two innocent victims when America’s latest school shooting struck a magnet high school in St. Louis, Missouri.
A gunman at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School killed a teenage girl who was a student and a grandmother who was a teacher at the school.
St. Louis police officers arrived four minutes after the initial call and made entry into the school, according to Interim Police Chief Michael Sack. As students were running out of the building, they told officers there was a shooter armed with a long gun.
While exchanging gunfire with police, the suspect was shot. He was taken to an area hospital where he died.
The father of the teenage victim identified her as 15-year-old Alexandria “Alex” Bell, a sophomore at the school who was a member of the junior dance team.
The woman was identified as Jean Kuczka, a health teacher at the high school. Her daughter, Abbey Kuczka, confirmed that her mother was killed by the gunman.
In a press conference Monday evening, Sack identified the shooting suspect as Orlando Harris, a 19-year-old who graduated from the school in 2021.
He said Harris had no criminal history and lived with family in south St. Louis, leaving investigators working to determine a possible motive.
In a press conference, Sack said the quick response to the shooting prevented it from getting worse. He said the suspect had almost a dozen high-capacity magazines that each held 30 rounds.
“This is just how St. Louis officers are, they’re not going to hesitate, they’re not going to wait when they know that there’s a threat out there,” Sack said.
Five people were shot, and three of them died early Sunday morning when a night of street racing ended in gunfire in Chicago.
New Jersey police found a man struck multiple times by gunfire when they arrived at 737 Martin Luther King Boulevard in Newark, responding to reports of shots fired Saturday around 8:30 p.m.
The victim was transported to University Hospital in critical condition while the shooter remained at large and police are searching for clues.
These are just a few of the 129 Americans who were killed and 270 others who were injured in 310 gun violence incidents reported over the last 72 hours in the United States, where Congress has yet to close gaping loopholes in the law requiring background checks for gun buyers or prohibit the sale of firearms to suspected terrorists.
So far this year, at least 16,571 Americans have been shot and killed while another 19,602 people committed suicide with firearms.
You must log in to post a comment.