Authorities have confirmed three people died during a Missouri High School shooting on Monday morning.
According to reports, an adult woman died after being transported to a hospital, a teenage girl died at the scene and the shooter died at a local hospital after he was shot by St. Louis Police, Chief Mike Sack said during a press conference.
Seven additional people from the people who died during the Missouri High School shooting were transported to the hospital with injuries ranging from gunshot wounds to being trampled, he said.
The shooter, who was armed with a long gun, was in his 20s, officials said. It remains unclear why he chose to enter the school or if he attended the school.
At about 9 a.m., a high school principal allegedly came on the school’s loudspeaker and announced the code word for a school shooting, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
David Williams, a math teacher at the school, told the newspaper he heard multiple shots outside his classroom. He then heard a man say, “You are all going to (expletive) die.”
“The shooter was quickly stopped by police inside CVPA,” Saint Louis Public Schools said on Twitter.
Nylah Jones, a ninth grader at the school, told The Post-Dispatch that the shooter fired into the classroom she was in from the hallway, but couldn’t gain entry into the room. She said the students piled into a corner while the gunman banged on the door.
“Next thing you know, we just heard gunshots,” Nylah told the outlet.
Another student at the school, Taniya Gholston, 16, told The Post-Dispatch that the shooter’s gun eventually jammed.
Hundreds of students were evacuated to a nearby Schnucks parking lot where they were reunited with family.
The Post-Dispatch reports that one boy was seen consoling his mother in the aftermath saying: “It’s OK, Mom. It’s OK, I’m here.”
The police chief said his officers expect to interview students from the school, but it might not happen today.
“They just went through a traumatic incident,” he said. “This is a heartbreaking day for all of us.”
“We want to thank again our first responders, but we also want to thank those teachers and school staff and administrators that were in place and moving and ready and those that are there right now with the students,” Missouri congresswoman Cori Bush said in a video posted by The Post-Dispatch. “And those that are there right now with the students. Our office would like to make sure that families know that we are standing with you, that our phone lines are open. If you don’t know who to talk to, you can call our office.”
“Our hearts go out to the victims and their families of this morning’s shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis,” Missouri Governor Mike Parson wrote on Twitter.
Parents have been directed to Gateway Science Academy to be reunited with their children.