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| Teen and Woman Killed in Shooting at St. Louis High School | Teen and Woman Killed in Shooting at St. Louis High School |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| ST. LOUIS — Messiah Miller was sitting in algebra class on Monday morning when he heard the first gunshot. Maybe it was just noise from the construction site across the street, he and his classmates reassured themselves. | ST. LOUIS — Messiah Miller was sitting in algebra class on Monday morning when he heard the first gunshot. Maybe it was just noise from the construction site across the street, he and his classmates reassured themselves. |
| Then they heard an urgent message from the principal over the intercom: “Miles Davis is in the building.” | Then they heard an urgent message from the principal over the intercom: “Miles Davis is in the building.” |
| That is the code that informs students and teachers at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School that an “active shooter” had breached the building; it sent students in the algebra class scrambling to hide. Messiah texted five people, including his mother, to tell them that he loved them. | That is the code that informs students and teachers at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School that an “active shooter” had breached the building; it sent students in the algebra class scrambling to hide. Messiah texted five people, including his mother, to tell them that he loved them. |
| “We heard more shots, and they were getting closer and closer,” said Messiah, 16. “Then he jiggled our door. But he didn’t come in.” | “We heard more shots, and they were getting closer and closer,” said Messiah, 16. “Then he jiggled our door. But he didn’t come in.” |
| At least two people in the school were killed and seven others injured before the gunman was killed in a shootout with the police, the authorities said, as another American school transformed on Monday from a quiet place of learning to a scene of terror, panic and violence. Students cowered under desks or jumped out windows and wondered if they were going to survive. | At least two people in the school were killed and seven others injured before the gunman was killed in a shootout with the police, the authorities said, as another American school transformed on Monday from a quiet place of learning to a scene of terror, panic and violence. Students cowered under desks or jumped out windows and wondered if they were going to survive. |
| Lt. Col. Michael Sack, the interim commissioner of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, said the victims included a 61-year-old woman who died at a hospital after the shooting and a 16-year-old girl who was pronounced dead at the scene. Others who were hurt “suffered a variety of injuries,” including gunshot wounds, Colonel Sack said. | |
| The suspect, identified by the police as a former student, also died at a hospital, Colonel Sack said. | The suspect, identified by the police as a former student, also died at a hospital, Colonel Sack said. |
| “Here is a safe place where kids go to grow, to learn, to develop, and something like this happens — it’s just heartbreaking,” he said of the school. | “Here is a safe place where kids go to grow, to learn, to develop, and something like this happens — it’s just heartbreaking,” he said of the school. |
| Once they were evacuated from the building, students were taken to the parking lot of a nearby grocery store to be reunited with their parents. | Once they were evacuated from the building, students were taken to the parking lot of a nearby grocery store to be reunited with their parents. |
| In the aftermath of the shooting, police officers stood outside the school in south St. Louis, and yellow police tape lined one side of the building. Women sat on a bench, holding hands and praying for the victims. | In the aftermath of the shooting, police officers stood outside the school in south St. Louis, and yellow police tape lined one side of the building. Women sat on a bench, holding hands and praying for the victims. |
| “Police responded quite heavily and quite quickly” to reports of a shooting just after 9 a.m., said Lori Willis, a spokeswoman for the St. Louis Public Schools, who added that seven safety officers employed by the school district were already in the building at the time of the shooting. Colonel Sack of the Police Department said that not all of them were armed. Photos published by local news outlets and shared on social media showed dozens of police cars at the busy intersection outside the school. | “Police responded quite heavily and quite quickly” to reports of a shooting just after 9 a.m., said Lori Willis, a spokeswoman for the St. Louis Public Schools, who added that seven safety officers employed by the school district were already in the building at the time of the shooting. Colonel Sack of the Police Department said that not all of them were armed. Photos published by local news outlets and shared on social media showed dozens of police cars at the busy intersection outside the school. |
| The performing arts school shares a campus with another high school, the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience, and both were on lockdown on Monday morning. The police identified the gunman as Orlando Harris, 19, who attended the school until last year. It was not immediately clear how Mr. Harris, who the police said had no criminal history, was able to enter the school. Colonel Sack said the building was locked, with doors secured, before Mr. Harris, who was “armed with a long gun,” arrived. | The performing arts school shares a campus with another high school, the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience, and both were on lockdown on Monday morning. The police identified the gunman as Orlando Harris, 19, who attended the school until last year. It was not immediately clear how Mr. Harris, who the police said had no criminal history, was able to enter the school. Colonel Sack said the building was locked, with doors secured, before Mr. Harris, who was “armed with a long gun,” arrived. |
| Police officers responded to the school several minutes after 911 calls were placed from the school and they entered the building quickly, Colonel Sack said at a news conference on Monday evening. | Police officers responded to the school several minutes after 911 calls were placed from the school and they entered the building quickly, Colonel Sack said at a news conference on Monday evening. |
| “There was no sidewalk conference,” Colonel Sack said. “They just went right in.” | “There was no sidewalk conference,” Colonel Sack said. “They just went right in.” |
| Colonel Sack said that officers engaged the suspect eight minutes after arriving at the scene. The gunman had a dozen 30-round high capacity magazines with him, Colonel Sack added. “This could have been much worse,” he said. “That’s a whole lot of victims.” | Colonel Sack said that officers engaged the suspect eight minutes after arriving at the scene. The gunman had a dozen 30-round high capacity magazines with him, Colonel Sack added. “This could have been much worse,” he said. “That’s a whole lot of victims.” |
| Kelvin Adams, the superintendent of schools for the St. Louis Public School District, credited members of the school’s faculty and staff for rallying the students to evacuate the building quickly. | Kelvin Adams, the superintendent of schools for the St. Louis Public School District, credited members of the school’s faculty and staff for rallying the students to evacuate the building quickly. |
| Kristie Faulstich was in the middle of teaching a lesson on trade and empires to her sophomore world history class when she heard the “Miles Davis” code for an active shooter over the intercom. She said she quickly locked her classroom door, turned off the lights and instructed her class of about 20 students to move to the corner of the room. | Kristie Faulstich was in the middle of teaching a lesson on trade and empires to her sophomore world history class when she heard the “Miles Davis” code for an active shooter over the intercom. She said she quickly locked her classroom door, turned off the lights and instructed her class of about 20 students to move to the corner of the room. |
| Within a minute of her locking the classroom, Ms. Faulstich heard someone “pulling drastically” at the door and trying to get in. The person couldn’t, and moved on. | Within a minute of her locking the classroom, Ms. Faulstich heard someone “pulling drastically” at the door and trying to get in. The person couldn’t, and moved on. |
| Ms. Faulstich, who said she had served in the Army until 2018, said that at one point she heard about 20 rounds fired. In the moment, Ms. Faulstich said, she was “mentally preparing for how to defend my kids.” | Ms. Faulstich, who said she had served in the Army until 2018, said that at one point she heard about 20 rounds fired. In the moment, Ms. Faulstich said, she was “mentally preparing for how to defend my kids.” |
| “I wasn’t going to say, ‘Nobody is going to hurt you,’ because that’s a promise I couldn’t make,” she said. “You get into this head space: I will do whatever it takes, and I will protect you however I have to. I know that’s how the teachers were in this moment. Those are our kids.” | “I wasn’t going to say, ‘Nobody is going to hurt you,’ because that’s a promise I couldn’t make,” she said. “You get into this head space: I will do whatever it takes, and I will protect you however I have to. I know that’s how the teachers were in this moment. Those are our kids.” |
| Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, condemned the shooting on Monday in a briefing with reporters, calling it “senseless violence,” and repeated President Biden’s call for Congress to pass a ban on assault weapons and other measures meant to restrict access to firearms. “We need additional action to stop the scourge of gun violence,” she said. | Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, condemned the shooting on Monday in a briefing with reporters, calling it “senseless violence,” and repeated President Biden’s call for Congress to pass a ban on assault weapons and other measures meant to restrict access to firearms. “We need additional action to stop the scourge of gun violence,” she said. |
| At a news conference outside the school, Mayor Tishaura O. Jones of St. Louis expressed sympathy for the shooting victims and survivors. “To be here for a such a devastating and traumatic situation breaks my heart, especially as a mother,” the mayor said. | At a news conference outside the school, Mayor Tishaura O. Jones of St. Louis expressed sympathy for the shooting victims and survivors. “To be here for a such a devastating and traumatic situation breaks my heart, especially as a mother,” the mayor said. |
| The Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, with an enrollment of about 380, and the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience, which has about 260 students, are magnet high schools. At the performing arts school, which has a predominantly Black student body, students are required to audition before they are accepted to enroll. | The Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, with an enrollment of about 380, and the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience, which has about 260 students, are magnet high schools. At the performing arts school, which has a predominantly Black student body, students are required to audition before they are accepted to enroll. |
| Jawae Bronner, 15, was returning from the bathroom to his visual arts class when the “Miles Davis” notification came over the intercom. His teacher ushered him and about 20 other students into a closet. | |
| “We’re all thinking it’s a drill,” Jawae said. When he got into the closet, Jawae texted his family to let them know that he was safe. Some of his classmates started panicking, he said. They could hear gunshots nearby, but they kept waiting. | |
| “I felt empty, I felt really empty, I had zero emotions going through me,” he said. “I was ready to die.” | |
| While in the closet, Jawae read a verse from the Bible from his phone, John 3:16. | |
| “I understood that if this is my time to go, this is my time to go,” he said. He began looking around the closet for possible escape routes, including a vent. He even considered braiding blankets together to create a rope that he could hang out of a window. | |
| Eventually, the police banged on the door and escorted Jawae and his classmates out of the school to safety. | |
| Jenna Fisher reported from St. Louis, and Julie Bosman from Chicago. Jim Tankersley contributed reporting from Washington. Kirsten Noyes and Kitty Bennett contributed research. | Jenna Fisher reported from St. Louis, and Julie Bosman from Chicago. Jim Tankersley contributed reporting from Washington. Kirsten Noyes and Kitty Bennett contributed research. |