3 dead, 6 injured in Michigan
A 15-year-old student was arrested Tuesday after authorities said he shot dead three students and wounded six others, including a teacher, at a high school near Detroit.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said it received a report of an active shooter around 12:51 p.m. local time. Oxford High School in Oxford Town, a suburb about 40 miles north of Detroit.
The boy, a sophomore at the school, was taken into custody within minutes of the shooting, Oakland County Sheriff Mike McCabe said. A deputy assigned to the school as the school liaison helped apprehend the suspect. McCabe added that the suspect fired 15 to 20 shots anywhere during the incident.
“He didn’t give us any resistance when he was arrested,” McCabe said. “The whole thing lasted five minutes.”
Authorities did not say if anyone was targeted and did not release any information about a motive. McCabe said authorities are investigating whether there were any warnings prior to the shooting or whether the student had a history of violence. He added that students and others will be questioned.
A semi-automatic handgun has been recalled. McCabe said the suspect, whose name was not released, invoked his right to remain silent and refused to speak to authorities in depth.
“I was shocked,” said Tim Throne, director of the Oxford Community School. “It’s brutal.”
Throne said the school does not have metal detectors and does not believe there has been discussion of that in the past. McCabe said authorities knew how the student brought the weapon to school but did not elaborate.
The identities of the victims were not immediately released.
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Schools have been placed on lockdown, with some students taking shelter in locked classrooms. They were then led to a nearby store parking lot after police secured the school and detained the suspect. The school district says parents can pick up students at a nearby community center.
Oxford Community School said all other schools in the area were closed for safety purposes.
Officials were still sweeping the school Tuesday afternoon and a series of ambulances were parked on the snow-covered lawn. Live streams from local TV news showed multiple medical helicopters having landed at the school. At least one person was taken to the helicopter around 2:30pm
Contributors: Lily Altavena, Liz Shepard and Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press; Related press