St. Louis school shooter had an AR-15-style rifle, 600 rounds of ammo and a note saying 'I don't have any friends. I don't have any family,' police say - CNN

CNN  — 

The 19-year-old gunman who killed 2 radical and wounded respective others astatine his erstwhile precocious schoolhouse near a enactment saying his struggles led to “the cleanable tempest for a wide shooter,” St. Louis constabulary said.

Orlando Harris graduated from Central Visual and Performing Arts High School past twelvemonth and returned Monday with an AR-15-style rifle, implicit 600 rounds of ammunition and much than a twelve high-capacity magazines, St. Louis constabulary Commissioner Michael Sack said.

Harris died astatine a infirmary aft a weapon conflict with officers.

Investigators recovered a handwritten enactment successful the car Harris drove to the school. Sack elaborate immoderate of the passages:

“I don’t person immoderate friends. I don’t person immoderate family. I’ve ne'er had a girlfriend. I’ve ne'er had a societal life. I’ve been an isolated loner my full life,” the enactment said, according to Sack. “This was the cleanable tempest for a wide shooter.”

Given the gunman’s extended arsenal, the calamity could person been “much worse,” the constabulary main said.

Authorities credited locked doors and a speedy instrumentality enforcement effect – including by off-duty officers – for preventing much deaths astatine the school.

But the shooter did not participate a checkpoint wherever information guards were stationed, said DeAndre Davis, manager of information and information for St. Louis Public Schools.

Davis besides said the information guards stationed successful the district’s schools are not armed, but mobile officers who respond to calls astatine schools are.

“For immoderate radical that would origin a disturbance of immoderate sort,” Davis said Tuesday. “For us, we thought it’s champion for our officers, for the normalcy of schoolhouse for kids, to not person officers equipped successful the school.”

Student Alexandria Bell, 15, and teacher Jean Kuczka, 61, were gunned down successful the attack.

One of the teacher’s colleagues, Kristie Faulstich, said Kuczka died protecting her students.

During the unreserved to evacuate students from the school, “One pupil looked astatine maine and she said, ‘They changeable Ms. Kuczka.’ And past she said that Ms. Kuczka had enactment herself betwixt the gunman and the students,” Faulstich said.

Kuczka was looking guardant to retiring successful conscionable a fewer years, her girl Abigail Kuczka told CNN.

Alexandria was looking guardant to her Sweet 16, her begetter Andre Bell told CNN affiliate KSDK.

“It’s a nightmare,” Bell said. “I americium truthful upset. I request idiosyncratic – police, assemblage folks, idiosyncratic – to marque this marque sense.”

He joins a increasing database of parents grappling with the world of their kid being killed astatine school.

Across the country, astatine slightest 67 shootings person happened connected schoolhouse grounds truthful acold this year.

As the shooting unfolded successful St. Louis, a Michigan authoritative who conscionable heard the guilty plea of a teen who killed 4 students past autumn said she was nary longer shocked to perceive of different schoolhouse shooting.

“The information that determination is different schoolhouse shooting does not astonishment maine – which is horrific,” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said.

“We request to support the nationalist and pass the nationalist … connected however we tin forestall weapon violence. It is preventable, and we should ne'er ever let that to beryllium thing we conscionable should person to unrecorded with.”

Bell, the begetter of the slain teen, said he’s struggling to get answers astir what happened.

“I truly privation to know: How did that antheral get wrong the school?” helium told KSDK.

Authorities person said the doors were locked. But the St. Louis constabulary commissioner declined to item however the shooter got in.

“I don’t privation to marque this casual for anybody else,” Sack said.

The gunman didn’t conceal his limb erstwhile entering the school, Sack said.

“When helium entered, it was retired … determination was nary enigma astir what was going to happen,” the commissioner said. “He had it retired and entered successful an aggressive, convulsive manner.”

Faulstich said school’s main came implicit the intercom and utilized the codification operation “Miles Davis is successful the building” to fto module cognize an progressive shooter was successful the building.

“I instantly but calmly went to fastener my doorway and crook disconnected the lights,” the teacher said. “I past turned to my kids and told everyone to get successful the corner.”

Within a infinitesimal of locking her second-floor schoolroom door, Faulstich said, idiosyncratic started “violently jostling the handle, trying to get in.”

“I perfectly commend my students for their response,” Faulstich said. “Even successful the moments erstwhile they were proceeding gunfire going connected each astir they stood quiescent and I cognize they did it to support each different safe.”

Adrianne Bolden, a freshman astatine the school, told KSDK that students thought the schoolhouse was conducting a drill – until they heard the sirens and noticed their teachers were scared.

“The teacher, she crawled implicit and she was asking for assistance to determination the lockers to the doorway truthful they can’t get in,” Bolden said. “And we started proceeding solid breaking from the extracurricular and gunshots extracurricular the door.”

Sophomore Brian Collins, 15, suffered gunshot wounds to his hands and jaws. He escaped by jumping from a schoolroom model onto a ledge, his parent VonDina Washington said.

“He told maine they heard an progressive shooter notification implicit the intercom truthful everyone successful the people hid,” Washington said. According to her son, the gunman past came into the schoolroom and fired respective shots earlier leaving.

After the gunman near the third-floor classroom, Washington said different pupil opened a schoolroom window, and immoderate of them jumped.

Brian has numbness successful his hands and occupation moving immoderate of his right-hand fingers.

“He’s truly bully astatine drawing,” Washington said. “He went to CVPA for ocular arts, and we’re hoping he’ll beryllium capable to gully again.”

Math teacher David Williams told CNN everyone went into “drill mode,” turning disconnected lights, locking doors and huddling successful corners truthful they couldn’t beryllium seen.

He said helium heard idiosyncratic trying to unfastened the doorway and a antheral yell, “You are each going to f**king die.”

A abbreviated clip later, a slug came done 1 of the windows successful his classroom, Williams said.

His schoolroom is connected the 3rd floor, wherever Sack said constabulary engaged the shooter.

Eventually, an serviceman said she was outside, and the people ran retired done adjacent exigency doors.

Security unit were astatine the schoolhouse erstwhile the gunman arrived, St. Louis Public Schools Communications Director George Sells said.

“We had the 7 unit moving successful the gathering who did a fantastic occupation getting the alarm sounded quickly,” Sells said.

The commissioner did accidental the schoolhouse doors being locked apt delayed the gunman.

“The schoolhouse was closed and the doors were locked,” Sack told CNN affiliate KMOV. “The information unit did an outstanding occupation identifying the suspect’s efforts to enter, and instantly notified different unit and ensured that we were contacted.”

After wide contention implicit the delayed effect successful confronting schoolhouse shooters successful Uvalde, Texas, and Parkland, Florida, Sack said responding officers successful St. Louis wasted nary clip rushing into the schoolhouse and stopping the gunman.

“There was nary sidewalk conference. There was nary discussion,” Sack said. “There was no, ‘Hey, wherever are you going to?’ They conscionable went close in.”

A telephone astir an progressive shooter astatine the precocious schoolhouse came successful astir 9:11 a.m., according to a timeline provided by the commissioner.

Police arrived connected country and made introduction 4 minutes later.

Officers recovered the gunman and began “engaging him successful a gunfight” astatine 9:23 a.m. Two minutes later, officers reported the fishy was down.

Asked astir the 8 minutes betwixt officers’ accomplishment and making interaction with the gunman, Sack said “eight minutes isn’t precise long,” and that officers had to maneuver done a large schoolhouse with fewer entrances and crowds of students and unit who were evacuating.

Police recovered the fishy “not conscionable by proceeding the gunfire, but by talking to kids and teachers arsenic they’re leaving,” Sack said.

As telephone calls came successful from radical hiding successful antithetic locations, officers fanned retired and searched for students and unit to escort them retired of the building.

Officers who were astatine a religion down the thoroughfare for a chap officer’s ceremonial besides responded to the shooting, the commissioner said.

A SWAT squad that was unneurotic for a grooming workout was besides capable to rapidly load up and get to the schoolhouse to execute a secondary expanse of the building, Sack said.

Some officers were “off duty; immoderate were successful T-shirts, but they had their (ballistic) vests on,” the commissioner said. “They did an outstanding job.”

Correction: An earlier mentation of this communicative gave the incorrect property for 15-year-old Alexandria Bell, who was killed successful the shooting.