Mother: Shooter took life of ‘perfect sweet soul’

BENTON, Ky. — A tight-knit rural community reflected Wednesday on the hometown horror of a school shooting that killed two teenagers, injured 18 and sent hundreds of others fleeing for their lives from a place many considered immune from violence.

Police have not publicly identified the 15-yearold accused of opening fire Tuesday at Marshall County High School. Officers said he walked into the “commons” area, where many students gather before classes begin, and immediately began shooting. Witnesses said he fired a single shot, paused and then emptied the handgun of ammunition before he tried to escape and was arrested. Wednesday, authorities said he faces preliminary charges of murder and assault while police investigate what prompted the attack.

Throughout a community where practically everyone knows each other — Benton, the nearest town, has about 4,300 people — people were initially shocked.

“We can’t believe this is happening to us,” Patrick Adamson, a church youth director, said Wednesday.

Dominico Caporali, whose 16-year-old daughter watched her classmate repeatedly pull the trigger, expressed a similar conviction.

“This community doesn’t have violence that most communities do. All these kids know each other, they hang out with each other,” he told The Associated Press.

Now, as disbelief gives way to grief, Adamson said people are already asking “What are we going to do about it? How are we going to come together?”

Many are leaning on their faith to cope, he said. His Baptist church was gathering Wednesday to share prayers and help teens talk about the shootings. In nearby counties, students gathered in prayer circles before classes began Wednesday. President Donald Trump sent his “thoughts and prayers” in a tweet more than 24 hours after the shootings, and shared his condolences with Gov. Matt Bevin on Wednesday in a phone call.

“Yesterday was one of those days where as a governor you lose three years of your life in a day. I can’t even imagine the price it has cost these families,” Bevin said.

The grief is overwhelming for the families of Bailey Nicole Holt and Preston Ryan Cope, the two 15-year-olds who were killed. Secret Holt told KFVS her daughter was a “perfect sweet soul,” and the “horrific act of violence” is “just unbearable” for her family.