Two students have been killed and 12 others have been wounded after a 15-year-old boy opened fire at a high school in rural Kentucky. The suspect, also a student, is in custody.
CBS News says the shooting rampage occurred shortly before 8 a.m. Tuesday at Marshall County High School in Benton, Ky.
At a news conference, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin told reporters that 14 students suffered gunshot wounds, and two of them had died. Five other students were being treated for non-gunshot injuries. The identities of the dead students have not been released. Bevin says a 15-year-old girl died at the school. The second fatality, a 15-year-old boy, died after being transported to a hospital.
"This is heartbreaking," Bevin said. "This is a wound that is going to take a long time to heal."
Kentucky State Police Commissioner Rick Sanders said the suspect, armed with a handgun, entered the school at 7:57 a.m. and started shooting. The first 911 call came a minute later, and students fled from the building.
"The students did exactly as they have been trained," Sanders said.
The suspect was apprehended at the school without incident. Bevin says the alleged shooter will be charged with murder and attempted murder. Authorities are working to gather information about the suspect; they have not disclosed whether they have determined a motive for the shooting. The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are assisting in the investigation.
The identities of the dead students have not been released. One, a 15-year-old girl, died at the school. The second, a 15-year-old boy, died after being transported to a hospital.
Some of the shooting victims were taken to Nashville, Tennessee’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center, which is about 120 miles away.
