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Parkland shooting: Police capture gunman who left 'numerous fatalities' after opening fire at a Florida high school Florida shooting: 17 killed as gunman opens fire at at Parkland high school
(about 2 hours later)
Seventeen people have been killed and more than a dozen injured after a former student entered a Florida high school and opened fire, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel confirmed. Students spilled into the hallways of a Florida public school, thinking they were responding to a fire alarm. They were met with gunfire from an AK-15 rifle, allegedly fired by a former student.
In the latest incident of gun violence to rock the US - there have reportedly been 18 school shootings so far in 2018 - police said a young man man entered the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, north of Miami, and began firing. He was subsequently named by US media as 19-year-old ex-student Nikolaus Cruz. The latest incidence of mass gun violence in America killed at least 17 people and injured at least 14 more in the small city of Parkland, just 45 miles outside of Miami. It was the 18th school shooting of the year, and one of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in US history.
"There are numerous fatalities. It's a horrific situation," Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie told reporters. Police identified the gunman as Nikolas Cruz, a 19-year-old former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who had been expelled for “disciplinary reasons”. Teachers said they had been warned that Mr Cruz could pose a danger to the campus.
"It is a day that you pray every day that you never have to see,” he said, according to the Associated Press. “We didn’t have any phone calls or threats that we know of that were made. We cannot live in a world built on fear, we have do what we can to provide the greatest safety measures for our kids.” On Wednesday afternoon, just as classes were being  released, police say Mr Cruz began spraying bullets into the high school hallway. According to Florida senator Bill Nelson, who claimed to have been briefed by the FBI on the issue, the shooter wore a gas mask and carried smoke grenades.
When asked if the incident was related to mental health, Mr Runcie said: "No sane person is going to go and commit such an atrocity. He also set off the fire alarm so that his victims would pour out into the hall.
“It's a horrific situation," Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie told reporters, according to the Associated Press.  "It is a day that you pray every day that you never have to see.”
He added: “We didn’t have any phone calls or threats that we know of that were made. We cannot live in a world built on fear, we have do what we can to provide the greatest safety measures for our kids.”
When asked if the incident was related to mental health, Mr Runcie said: "No sane person is going to go and commit such an atrocity.”
Local news reported that a number of people could be seen being loaded into ambulances on a stretcher soon after the shooting. Other students could be seen running to police safety outside of the school, where they all dumped their backpacks in a pile and were told to sit on the grass.Local news reported that a number of people could be seen being loaded into ambulances on a stretcher soon after the shooting. Other students could be seen running to police safety outside of the school, where they all dumped their backpacks in a pile and were told to sit on the grass.
At around 4.15pm, police said the shooter had been taken into custody after being tracked down without incident. The shooter was later identified by local media and the Associated Press as Mr Cruz. At around 4.15pm, police said the shooter had been taken into custody after being tracked down without incident.
"We were told last year that he wasn't allowed on campus with a backpack on him," Jim Gard, a math teacher at the school who said he taught Mr Cruz last year, told the Miami Herald of Mr Cruz. "There were problems with him last year threatening students, and I guess he was asked to leave campus." Jim Gard, a math teacher at the school who said he taught Mr Cruz last year, told the Miami Herald that teachers had been warned not to let the former student on campus with a backpack.
Mr Israel later confirmed that Mr Cruz was expelled from the school, but did not provide a reason why. He said that the shooter was found with multiple magazines, and what investigators believed was one AR-15 rifle. "There were problems with him last year threatening students, and I guess he was asked to leave campus,” Mr Gard said.
Former classmates also has troubling memories of Mr Cruz.  Jillian Davis, a recent graduate of the high school told Reuters she recalled his "strange talking, sometimes about knives and guns”.
Authorities have confirmed that Mr Cruz was expelled from the school, but have not provided a reason why.
The school day at Stoneman Douglas typically ends at 2.40pm, and the first tweet from the Broward County Sheriff's Department about the incident came at 2.53pm.The school day at Stoneman Douglas typically ends at 2.40pm, and the first tweet from the Broward County Sheriff's Department about the incident came at 2.53pm.
One student was texting with a CBS reporter from inside a closet in the school, and described a chaotic scene.One student was texting with a CBS reporter from inside a closet in the school, and described a chaotic scene.
"All of a sudden there was a really loud noise... people are crying in the closet," the student told the reporter."All of a sudden there was a really loud noise... people are crying in the closet," the student told the reporter.
Students and their parents told how children hid in classrooms until they were rescued by armed police in tactical gear.Students and their parents told how children hid in classrooms until they were rescued by armed police in tactical gear.
McKenzie Hartley, who identified herself as the sister of a student at the school described the scene in a text message to Reuters: “She heard him shooting through the windows of classrooms and two students were shot.”
“My daughter, as of right now, she’s still trapped in a closet. She’s afraid to speak,” a man who identified himself as Caesar Figueroa and said his daughter was inside the school, told CBS News.“My daughter, as of right now, she’s still trapped in a closet. She’s afraid to speak,” a man who identified himself as Caesar Figueroa and said his daughter was inside the school, told CBS News.
“I told her, ‘Don’t call me, because I don’t want no one to hear your voice.’ So, she’s still trapped in a closet in there.”“I told her, ‘Don’t call me, because I don’t want no one to hear your voice.’ So, she’s still trapped in a closet in there.”
Aerial footage from local news showed a number of people lying on the ground outside the school, and being treated for injuries. Meanwhile, dozens of emergency vehicles responded to the scene, including a tank and armed law enforcement.Aerial footage from local news showed a number of people lying on the ground outside the school, and being treated for injuries. Meanwhile, dozens of emergency vehicles responded to the scene, including a tank and armed law enforcement.
President Donald Trump said on Twitter: "Just spoke to Governor Rick Scott. We are working closely with law enforcement on the terrible Florida school shooting."President Donald Trump said on Twitter: "Just spoke to Governor Rick Scott. We are working closely with law enforcement on the terrible Florida school shooting."
Those sentiments were echoed by Mr Scott, as well as Florida's Senators Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, a prominent advocate for gun control, addressed the issue on the Senate floor that afternoon, urging his fellow legislators to take action. He had planned to discuss a separate issue, but spoke for several minutes on that day’s shooting.
"I've spoken with @BrowardSheriff Scott Israel, @browardschools Superintendent Robert Runice, and FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen regarding Stoneman Douglad High School. We'll continue to receive updates from law enfrocement," Mr Scott wrote on Twitter. "This happens nowhere else other than the United States of America – this epidemic of mass slaughter, this scourge of school shooting after school shooting," said Mr Murphy, who represents the district where the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting took place in 2012.
"Just spoke to Broward School Superintendent," Mr Rubio tweeted. "Today is that terrible day you pray never comes." He added: "It only happens here not because of coincidence, not because of bad luck, but as a consequence of our inaction. We are responsible."