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US school siege ends in bloodshed US school siege ends in bloodshed
(about 2 hours later)
A gunman has died and a teenage girl has been critically injured after police stormed a high school in the US state of Colorado, authorities say. A gunman has died and a teenage girl has been critically injured after police stormed a high school in the US state of Colorado.
The violent end to the siege at Platte Canyon High School came after the gunman reportedly threatened to harm the two girls he was holding hostage. The violent end to the siege in the small mountain town of Bailey came after the gunman threatened to harm the two female students he was holding.
The injured girl was airlifted to hospital, Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener said. The other was unhurt. The local sheriff said he believed the gunman had shot the hostage and then himself, but could not confirm this.
The gunman initially took six girls hostage, before releasing four of them. The gunman had originally seized six people, but four were later released.
Staff and pupils were evacuated from the school, in the town of Bailey, after the gunman entered the building shortly after noon. The injured girl was taken by helicopter to hospital in Denver, Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener said. The other was unhurt.
TV pictures showed a long line of people streaming away towards school buses, and students comforting each other. 'Tactical solution'
'Rucksack bomb' Sheriff Wegener said police had decided to storm the second-floor classroom at Platte Canyon High School where the gunman was holding the two girls after he broke off negotiations.
Before police stormed the building, Colorado radio journalist Jerry Bell told BBC News 24 that the gunman was holding two girls in a classroom on the second floor. He said the breakdown in communication came 30 minutes before the a deadline the gunman had set.
He was said to be carrying a bomb in a rucksack, the journalist added. "It was then decided that a tactical solution needed to be done in an effort to save the two hostages that were in the room," Sheriff Wegener told reporters.
A newspaper in Park County, where Bailey is situated, quoted what appeared to be police radio reports. "Entry was made, the suspect shot one of the hostages then shot himself. That's what it looks like at this time. The investigation is still ongoing."
One message described the gunman as arriving at the school with a "black squarish-looking gun" and firing a single shot when a teacher refused to do what he asks. Sheriff Wegener said the gunman's motives were unknown.
Platte Canyon High and neighbouring Fitzsimmons Middle School have about 800 students enrolled between them. "I don't know the identity of the gunman. I don't know why he wanted to do this and hopefully the investigation will reveal who it is."
"The two schools have been in lockdown," an official in the Park County Sheriff's office told AFP news agency. The incident began when the man entered the school around noon (1800 GMT) with a gun and a rucksack, which he claimed held an explosive device, police said.
A newspaper in Park County quoted what appeared to be police radio reports.
One message described the gunman as arriving at the school with a "black squarish-looking gun" and firing a single shot when a teacher refused to do what he asked.
He then took six hostages. Negotiators later arranged the release of four of them.
Colombine massacre
Staff and pupils were evacuated from the high school and nearby Fitzsimmons Middle School while a bomb squad and Swat teams were deployed from neighbouring Jefferson County.
The two schools have nearly 800 students between them.
It was in Jefferson County in 1999 where two students killed 13 people at Columbine High School before taking their own lives.
Bailey lies 56km (35 miles) south-west of the state capital, Denver.Bailey lies 56km (35 miles) south-west of the state capital, Denver.
Police have been called in from neighbouring Jefferson County where in 1999, two students killed 13 people at Columbine High School before taking their own lives.
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