Washington – a student was killed and three others were wounded at a Washington State High School on Wednesday when a student, described as “obsessed with school shootings” opened fire at Freeman High School near Spokane.
Three injured students were taken to the Sacred Heart Medical Center where they were found to already be in a good condition, as noted by Spokane Fire Department Chief Brian Schaeffer. One of the patients, however, is scheduled to undergo a surgery. Trauma surgeon Mike Moore said that the three children, who are all in their mid-teens, were doing great and are stable.
Shooting at Washington State high school
The shooting began around 10 AM, just as classes were beginning. Students ran for cover, while others were led to safety at nearby schools. One student tweeted a photo following the incident, showing fellow students sitting on a classroom floor. According to the tweet, the said student was a junior who was evacuated from the high school and was at Freeman Elementary at the time of the post. It also noted that at least four shots were fired by the gunman.
Although it appeared that the shooter was acting alone, all public schools in Spokane, as well as the Central Valley School District and Mead District were placed on lock down as the shooter was take into custody.
Classrooms were then searched at the high school before Chief Schaeffer announced the threat eliminated.
Shooter identity held by police
Authorities did not identify the shooter nor suggest a motive, but a 15-year-old sophomore who spoke with the Associated Press said that the boy had been obsessed with school shootings. Some students actually alerted school counselors at the beginning of the year when the shooter bought notes to campus saying that he might get killed or jailed.
In a press conference following the incident, Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich described the chain of events, saying that the gunman came to school, armed. Upon entering the premises, he proceeded to take out his weapons and attempted to fire one, which jammed. He then proceeded on to the next one. He opened fire in a second-floor hallway, where four people were struck with bullets, one of whom died.
The student who died, according to Knezovich, attempted to dissuade the suspect from opening fire by engaging him. The student was shot, and did not survive. A faculty member managed to take down the suspect before police arrived on the scene.
Unlike the most common shooter profiles, however, the Freeman High School shooter was not bullied nor considered a social pariah. In fact, according to the source, he had many friends. Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit group seeking to reduce gun violence noted that this latest attack was the 31st school shooting this year.
