At Least 2 Killed in Shooting at St. Louis High School - The New York Times

U.S.|At Least 2 Killed successful Shooting astatine St. Louis High School

A gunman killed astatine slightest 2 radical astatine a St. Louis precocious schoolhouse connected Monday erstwhile helium opened occurrence conscionable arsenic the schoolhouse time was getting underway.

Officials said that astatine slightest 7 others were injured successful the onslaught astatine Central Visual and Performing Arts High School. Lt. Col. Michael Sack, the interim commissioner of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, said the victims who were killed were an big pistillate who died astatine a infirmary and a teenage miss who was pronounced dormant astatine the scene.

Colonel Sack did not place the fishy but said helium appeared to beryllium astir 20 years old. The fishy died astatine an country infirmary aft exchanging gunfire with the police, helium said.

“Here is simply a harmless spot wherever kids spell to grow, to learn, to make and thing similar this happens — it’s conscionable heartbreaking,” Colonel Sack said.

The constabulary responded conscionable aft 9 a.m., to reports that shots had been fired astatine Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, a spokeswoman for the St. Louis Public Schools said.

“Police responded rather heavy and rather quickly,” the spokeswoman, Lori Willis, said. Photos published by section quality outlets and shared online by radical driving by showed dozens of constabulary cars astatine the engaged intersection successful southbound St. Louis wherever the schoolhouse sits.

Ms. Willis noted that the schoolhouse shares a field with the different precocious school, the Collegiate School of Medical and Bioscience, and some were connected lockdown for a play of time.

Colonel Sack said the schoolhouse was locked and the doors were secured earlier the gunman, who was “armed with a agelong gun,” entered the school.

“The shooter was rapidly stopped by constabulary inside” the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, the territory said connected Twitter. Ms. Willis said the gunman was described arsenic slim and dressed wholly successful black. His transportation to the schoolhouse was not clear.

Kelvin Adams, the superintendent of schools for the St. Louis Public School District, credited the members of the school’s module and unit for rallying the students to evacuate the gathering quickly.

The territory was moving to reunite students with their families astatine different school, Ms. Willis said.

David Williams, a mathematics teacher astatine Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, told The St. Louis Post-Dispatch that helium heard gunshots extracurricular his schoolroom earlier a slug shattered 1 of the windows connected his classroom’s door. He said helium past heard a antheral accidental that everyone was going to die.

Nylah Jones, a ninth people pupil astatine the school, told The Post-Dispatch that she was successful a mathematics people erstwhile shots were fired into the country from the hallway. She described however students gathered successful a country of the schoolroom and tried not to determination arsenic the gunman banged connected the door.

Mayor Tishaura O. Jones of St. Louis responded to the shooting by saying “Help america Jesus” connected Twitter.

The Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, a apical arts precocious schoolhouse successful St. Louis, is located astatine a engaged intersection successful southbound St. Louis. The Collegiate School of Medical and Bioscience is simply a magnet precocious schoolhouse and is ranked 5th successful the authorities by the U.S. News & World Report.