Teenage girl critical after being shot in school
A teenager armed with a handgun shot and critically wounded a girl inside a Maryland school yesterday and the shooter was killed when a school resource officer confronted him moments after the gunfire erupted. A third student was in good condition after he was shot. The shooting at Great Mills High School, a month after 17 people were killed at a Florida high school, intensified calls for Congress to act on gun violence at schools. This weekend, students across the country plan an anti-gun violence march on the nation’s capital. In Maryland, it was not immediately clear whether the shooter took his own life or was killed by the officer’s bullet, St Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron said, though the officer was credited with preventing any more loss of life.
Authorities did not release a motive, but said they believe the girl and the shooter – 17-year-old Austin Rollins – previously had a relationship. It was not clear how the 14-year-old boy was wounded. The officer, who doubles as a SWAT team member, was unharmed. Police did not identify the victims, but the family
of 16-year-old Jaelynn Willey, a sophomore at Great Mills, confirmed she had been shot. Jaelynn is one of nine siblings, according to a statement from the family, and a member of the swim team. “Jaelynn is an amazing young lady, whose peaceful presence and love of her fellow students and family is known throughout her Maryland-based school,” the family statement said. A fundraiser for the family on the youcaring.com website had already raised more than $25,000 by last night.