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A high school shooting has been reported at Marshall County High School in Benton, Kentucky.
Several people have been reported wounded and are being treated at a nearby hospital. Details about their condition were not immediately available.
One person is currently in police custody, as confirmed by the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department. The suspect is said to be a 16-year-old male who was “apprehended within minutes,” according to a police statement; a motive for the shooting is currently unknown at this time.
Police scanners indicated that shooting could have occurred around 8 AM. A student wrote on Twitter around 8:18 AM:
“Pray for Marshall County High School, I am a student there and we just had a school shooter, multiple students injured, please pray for us.”
Update: Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin has posted the following on social media:
“Tragic shooting at Marshall County HS…Shooter is in custody, one confirmed fatality, multiple others wounded…Much yet unknown…Please do not speculate or spread hearsay…Let’s let the first responders do their job and be grateful that they are there to do it for us…”
Bevin later released an official statement on the shooting:
Confirming one death and the number of casualties, believed to be students, to be five, the Kentucky State Police wrote on social media that among “multiple victims, one of which has been pronounced dead,” also announcing that “more details will available soon.”
Earlier reports listed the number of victims as four. The school is currently believed to be on lockdown. Emergency responders are also believed to be on scene. A local news agency, “Marshall County Daily,” also reported that “multiple agencies currently on the scene.”
The publication later wrote that “parents are being asked to stay back by board office,” with students being taken to a “secure” location where they could be picked up.
In a live audio statement, police confirmed that “as of right now, all patients have been transported that we’re aware of.” It is believed that at least one victim was shot in the torso and another had a graze wound. According to police, there may have been up to 10 victims in the shooting as students were being taken to the hospital.
The scene was not entirely secured at around 10 AM central time. According to reports, a helicopter landed at the school, presumably to help transport victims. Various accounts gave painted situations for the students. Police said that one parent reported that her daughter was hiding in a clost until police came to get her. Another student developed a panic attack; another student had a broken ankle.
One former student gave the following statement on Facebook:
“This is my high school. I feel devastated. MCHS is a beautiful, rural community that puts all of its focus and love onto the county high school and no matter how far from home I wander, I will always and forever be a Marshall County Marshal. My heart goes out to my western Kentucky family. We stand with you.”
One eye witness, 17-year-old junior Greg Rodgers, gave the following account, according to Syracuse:
“I pulled off to the side of the road because everyone was running to the main road. I asked my friend what was going on and he told me that there was a school shooting. I was shocked. He said that someone had just shot up the school… I was shaking a lot driving back to my house. I’m still shaking.”
This is the second shooting at a high school in the United States within the last 24 hours, with a previous school shooting happening in Italy, Texas.
Update: According to KWTX, at least two people have died as a consequence of the shooting. PoliceOne added that at least 19 people had been injured, with only 14 confirmed to be victims of gunshot wounds. 5 others had been hurt but were not shot. It is believed that all of those shot had been students.
As more information was given about the suspect, his age was said to be 15 and it was confirmed that he will be charged with murder. Some previous accounts of the shooting may have confused the story with the shooting in Italy, as conflicting reports identified his age as either 15 or 16.
According to Vox, Police have said the scene is now “no longer active.”
As this story is developing, more information will be updated as made available.