Less than one week after one million students walked out of their schools in unison to protest gun violence, the nation has been hit once again with another school shooting.
Tuesday, at Great Mills High School in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, a male student opened fire in a hallway with a handgun. He later died at the hospital to which he and two other students were transported.
Sheriff Tim Cameron reported at a news conference the shooter and school resource officer, Deputy First Class Blaine Gaskill, exchanged fire, but it is unknown if it was that fire that ultimately killed the suspect.
Cameron said:
“When the shooting took place, our school resource officer, who was stationed inside the school, was alerted to the event and the shots being fired. He pursued the shooter and engaged the shooter, during which that engagement he fired a round at the shooter.
“Simultaneously the shooter fired a round as well. So, in the hours to come, in the days to come, through a detailed investigation, we will be able to determine if our SRO’s round struck the shooter.”
The Baltimore Sun reported the incident began just before 8:00 a.m., and there is an “indication that a prior relationship existed between the shooter and the female victim.”
The St. Mary’s County sheriff’s office reported last month it arrested two teenage boys for “threats of mass violence,” and a 39-year-old man for related charges, after the teens threatened a shooting at nearby Leonardtown High School. During a search, police found semi-automatic rifles, handguns, and other weapons.
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