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Florida shooting: 17 confirmed dead in 'horrific' attack on high school – live
Florida shooting: 17 confirmed dead in 'horrific' attack on high school – live
(about 2 hours later)
More from the sheriff’s press conference:
The killing of 17 people today in Parkland puts this as the eighth deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.
-Twelve victims were killed in the building, two just outside, one in the street and two died in hospital.
The 1999 massacre at Columbine high school – in which 13 people, as well as the two perpetrators, were killed – no longer makes the top 10.
-The suspect Nikolaus Cruz, 19, was expelled from the school for disciplinary reasons.
I've updated this @teamtrace graphic three times in the past five months. pic.twitter.com/T7QfqQ9zHn
-He had countless magazines and an AR-15 rifle.
Melissa Falkowski, a teacher at the high school, has been speaking to CNN about the shocking events of the day.
The sheriff has just confirmed that 17 people are dead.
Drills for a code red (active shooter) situation had been well rehearsed, she said.
The suspect was identified as 19-year-old Nikolaus Cruz.
We could not have been more prepared for this situation … we have trained for this, we have trained the kids for what to do …
Oliver Laughland is reporting from the rendezvous point for families and students in south Florida, and has spoken with a student who managed to escape the school.
We did everything that we were supposed to do.
As emergency helicopters hovered overhead, dozens of police squad cars blocked the road outside the Stoneman Douglas High School.
I feel today like our government, our country, has failed us and failed our kids and didn’t keep us safe.
Dozens of family members had congregated underneath an archway beside the school, anxiously waiting for their children who remained inside. By Wednesday evening the Swat operation to clear the high school, which enrolls close to 3,000 pupils, was not over.
Falkowski detailed what happened when the fire alarm went off on Wednesday afternoon – the second of the day after a drill in the morning:
A 15 year-old student who did not want to be named told the Guardian he had been in the same building where the gunman opened fire.
It was fourth period … I was working with the kids, making the school newspaper, when the fire alarm went off.
“I heard three gunshots,” the student said. “And then some more down the corridor.”
We just followed the protocol: when the fire alarm goes off, we have to evacuate.
“We shut our classroom door and stood to the side of it so we wouldn’t be seen. Twenty minutes later the police broke in through the glass,” he said. “I was terrified.”
We make it out of my room into the hallway … the security guard posted in our area said no, it’s a code red, go back.
Erica Lafferty, whose mother, Dawn Hochsprung, principal of Sandy Hook elementary school, died in the 2012 mass shooting, has responded to Donald Trump’s tweet saying “no child, teacher or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an American school”.
We were yelling at kids in the hallway to go back, to go inside.
You’re right. I’ve been saying this since my mom was murdered at #SandyHook in 2012. So, is it finally time to talk #gunsense? I’m happy to share my experience with you to help brainstorm solutions. https://t.co/z1VFQI19rW
She said she and 19 students huddled in a closet while the shooting unfolded around them.
Here’s a breakdown of school shootings so far this year:
I just tried to keep them calm, tell them everything is going to be OK, just hold them together. You just do the best you can for the kids that you’re supposed to keep safe.
So far in 2018: -8 shootings at American schools that resulted in injury or death-2 gun suicides on a school campus-8 times a gun was fired on school property, but hit no onehttps://t.co/rWmqMiS9gn
Falkowski said her own students are safe, but she does not yet know which of her colleagues and other students have been killed or injured.
Teacher Melissa Falkowski, who hid in a closet at the school before she was able to get away, told CNN: “This is the worst nightmare scenario, horrible. ... Society failed those people today.”
Associated Press reports that the gunman wore a gas mask and carried smoke grenades, although it is unclear at this stage whether these were used.
She said she hid 19 students in a closet.
Florida senator Bill Nelson said he had been briefed by the FBI on the details of the attack, adding that the killer “set off the fire alarm so the kids would come pouring out of the classrooms into the hall. And there the carnage began.”
Caesar Figueroa told the Associated Press he was one of the first parents to arrive at the school and saw police officers bring out large weapons as they approached. He told the AP:
House speaker Paul Ryan has issued a statement on the shooting:
My wife called me that there was an active shooter and the school was on lockdown. I got on the road and saw helicopters, police with machine guns. It was crazy and my daughter wasn’t answering her phone.”
This is an unspeakable tragedy. It is nothing short of true evil to attack innocent children.
Figueroa said his 16-year-old daughter texted him that she was hidden inside a closet at school with friends: “She was in a classroom and she heard gunshots by the window. She and her friends ran into the closet.”
While we now wait to learn more, we are so grateful to law enforcement and all those who brought this horror to an end.
Beth Feingold told the AP that her daughter sent a text at 2:32 pm saying “We’re on code red. I’m fine.” The daughter later texted: “Mom, I’m so scared.”
Let us all keep the victims in our hearts. A long night lies ahead for many families. Right now, the whole country is standing with the Parkland community.
The girl was eventually able to leave the school and was not injured.
Chris Murphy, senator for Connecticut – site of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting, in which 26 children and adults were killed – made an emotional speech to the Senate earlier on Wednesday:
More from sherrif Scott Israel’s press conference:
This happens nowhere else other than the United States of America. This epidemic of mass slaughter, this scourge of school shooting after school shooting.
We believe at this point that all children we know about are cleared and are outside the building. However, we don’t know if there are injured people, we don’t know if there are people hiding. So we will not begin to open up the crime scene until the Swat component says the school is safe and clear.”
It only happens here not because of coincidence, not because of bad luck, but as a consequence of our inaction.
He also said the shooting was personal: “My very own triplets went to that school and graduated from Stoneman Douglas. They played football at that school, so it’s catastrophic. There really are no words.”
We are responsible.
Florida governor Rick Scott also said he is now on his way to Broward County:
Watch the speech here:
On my way to Broward County now to be briefed on the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School by local law enforcement and emergency management officials. pic.twitter.com/lFVR5d8NLy
Sixteen people wounded in the shooting were taken to hospitals in the area.
Seven weeks into the new year, there have been eight shootings at American schools that have resulted in injury or death. Less than a month ago, a 15-year-old student opened fire at a high school in Kentucky, leaving two students dead and eighteen injured. Other incidents have been smaller: in early February, one student in Los Angeles was shot in the head, and another in the arm, when a gun concealed in a fellow student’s backpack went off. “We’re lessening the threshold of how crazy someone needs to be to commit a mass shooting,” Austin Eubanks, who survived the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School, told the Guardian last fall in the wake of the Las Vegas shooting. Eubanks said he has watched the increasing pace of mass shootings with fear and anxiety. The latest school shooting comes as Gays Against Guns, one of the many gun control groups formed in the wake of one of America’s mass shootings, were delivering “bloody Valentines” to members of Congress in Washington to push for stricter gun laws.Congress has refused to tighten restrictions on gun ownership, even after 20 children and six educators were massacred in 2012 in an elementary school in Connecticut. The fifth year anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting last December passed quietly, with Congressional Republicans refusing to pass new gun control laws, and instead pushing for a law that would weaken gun restrictions nationwide and make it easier to carry a concealed weapon across state lines.
Eight victims and the suspect, Nikolas Cruz, were taken to Broward Health North. Dr Evan Boyar said two of those victims died at the hospital, three remain in critical condition, and three are stable. All had been shot.
Donald Trump won the White House campaigning on a promise to support the National Rifle Association and oppose any limits to Americans’ right to own guns. In all, guns have been fired on school property in America at least 18 times this year, according to incidents tracked by Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control group. In eight of these cases, a gun was fired on school property, but no one was injured. Another two incidents were gun suicides, claiming the lives of one student and one adult on school property.
The suspect is now in police custody after treatment.
The shooter, who has still not been named, was a former student of the high school, according to the Broward sheriff Scott Israel. The sheriff said the suspect is around 18 years old and apprehended off campus and taken into custody without incident.
Eight other injured victims were taken to separate hospitals. There is no information on their condition at this point.
NEW from @browardsheriff Scott Israel:- "Multiple" people are dead- Suspect was apprehended off-campus- Suspect is a former student pic.twitter.com/5B4ue9pbT5
The sheriff’s office has clarified the spelling of the suspect’s name as Nikolas Cruz (it had previously referred to him as Nikolaus).
Here’s what we know so far about the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida:
Correction: suspect’s name is spelled Nikolas Cruz #StonemanShooting
Police said there are “at least 14 victims”, but have not specified the number of injuries and casualties.
The spelling in earlier posts in this live blog will now be corrected in line with this fresh information.
School officials have also said there were “numerous fatalities”, but did not provide a specific count.
Investigators are appealing for those who have images and video of the attack to send it to them:
A suspect has been taken into custody, but the authorities have not yet revealed the identity of the individual apprehended.
The @FBI has set up a website where you can upload images and video of the #stonemanshooting. Visit https://t.co/7k6vAb5Csa to submit any information you have on the shooting that occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Disturbing footage from inside the school showed students hiding in classrooms as loud and repeated gunshots were heard nearby.
This is Claire Phipps picking up the live blog for continuing coverage.
Victims are being taken to Broward County medical centers.
In an interview with CNN, another former student at the high school – who was not named – said he knew the suspect Nikolas Cruz:
A Swat team was still clearing the school as of 5pm local time.
He was kicked out of school last year. He always had guns on him. There was a lot of crazy stuff that he did, just not right for school.
US senator Chris Murphy has addressed the shooting on the floor of the Senate:
He got kicked out of school multiple times. He carried multiple guns. He showed me his guns.
Turn on your television right now, you’re going to see scenes of children running for their lives. It’s what looks to be the [18th] school shooting in this country, and we have not even hit March. Let me just note once again for my colleagues: this happens nowhere else other than the United States of America. We are responsible for a level of mass atrocity that happens in this country with zero parallel anywhere else. As a parent, it scares me to death that this body doesn’t take seriously the safety of my children, and it seems like a lot of parents in South Florida are going to be asking that same question later today.”
Actually I was kicked out of school myself and I saw what guns he had. He showed me personally. Often the kids wouldn’t pick on him because they knew what could go on. They were scared at the time.
Sen. Chris Murphy addresses Florida school shooting on Senate floor: "Let me just note once again for my colleagues...We are responsible for a level of mass atrocity that happens in this country with zero parallel anywhere else." https://t.co/fl7GP76ZB1 pic.twitter.com/SSU76XwVuB
A lot of people were saying that it was going to be him. All the kids joked and like that saying he was the one that screwed up at school but it turns out everyone predicted it. That’s crazy.
More from Robert Runcie, Broward County superintendent of schools:
He knew the school layout. He knew where everyone would be. He’s been to the fire drills. He was prepared for this.
There’s going to be a thorough investigation. Typically you see in these situations that there potentially could have been signs out there. I would be speculating at this point if there were, but we didn’t have any warnings, there weren’t any phone calls or threats that we know of...
Here’s what we have learned from the sheriff’s office and hospital officials so far:
We cannot live in a world that’s built on fear. We have to do what we can to make sure that we provide the greatest safety measures we can for our kids, but ... mental health issues in this country are growing and they’re a big challenge that’s going to need top be addressed in our school systems as well as in broader society to ensure these kind of tragedies don’t continue. We’ve got to be able to recognize individuals in distress...
Seventeen people have been confirmed dead, including students and adults.
My prayers and heartfelt sorrow goes out to the families and this entire community.”
Other victims have been taken to hospitals for treatment, and at least three are in critical condition.
The White House canceled its daily briefing in response to the shooting, and Donald Trump tweeted his condolences, saying “no child, teacher or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an American school”.
Twelve of the victims were killed inside the building, two outside, one in the street and two died later in the hospital.
My prayers and condolences to the families of the victims of the terrible Florida shooting. No child, teacher or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an American school.
The suspect was identified as Nikolas Cruz, a 19-year-old who had been expelled from Stoneman Douglas high school.
Just spoke to Governor Rick Scott. We are working closely with law enforcement on the terrible Florida school shooting.
Police said Cruz had “countless magazines” and an an AR-15 assault rifle.
Footage from inside the school has emerged. Warning: the video is disturbing. The footage captured students inside a classroom screaming as loud gunshots are heard nearby. The cellphone video did not capture any injuries, but showed what it was like to be hiding nearby. From CBS:
The suspect was apprehended outside of the school and taken into custody without incident.
JUST IN (warning, disturbing video): Cell phone video inside the school as shots were going off at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High https://t.co/wHWo6XjccX pic.twitter.com/3ovf5LhzBs
The shooting appears to be the eighth school shooting of the year that has involved injury or death.
The news station also interviewed a parent who described the scene as a “war zone”:
Police found “very, very disturbing” material when searching Cruz’s social media.
NEW: Parent of student trapped in the school tells @jeffglor "it's like a war zone here" during our @CBSNews Special Report pic.twitter.com/aK1TOnSGfn
None of the victims have been identified.
Robert Runcie, Broward County’s superintendent of schools, has confirmed that there were fatalities, telling reporters:
The tragedy appears to be the eighth deadliest mass shooting in contemporary US history, according to data on public mass shootings compiled by Mother Jones. The database tracks public mass shootings since 1982 with four or more victims killed.
It’s a horrific situation. It’s just a horrible day for us. ... It’s a day you pray every day we will never have to see. It is in front of us and I ask the community for their prayers and support for these children and their families. We’re going to do whatever we can as a community to pull through this, and we will.
Runcie said there was no evidence of a second shooter, and that he couldn’t yet release details about the suspect who has been apprehended.
There are “at least” 14 victims, according to the Broward county sheriff’s office, which said the victims are being transported to hospitals. It’s unclear how many students are among the victims.
So far we have at least 14 victims. Victims have been and continue to be transported to Broward Health Medical Center and Broward Health North hospital. #StonemanShooting
The Broward Sherifff’s office says that “the shooter is now in custody”.
Shooter is now in custody. Scene is still active. #stonemanshooting
There are reports of a shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida. Here’s what we know so far:
Police said the shooting happened on Wednesday afternoon at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, which is about 50 miles north of Miami.
Aerial footage from a local station showed numerous people lying on the ground outside of the school, and some were being moved into ambulances and treated for injuries.
There are reports of “multiple injuries”, but it’s unclear how many have been hurt and if there are any fatalities.
The sheriff’s office said the suspect was still at large at around 3pm local time, and there were later reports of one person being taken into custody.
School officials said students and staff heard gunfire close to dismissal time and that the school “immediately went on lockdown”.
