3 killed, 8 injured in Michigan school shooting
A 15-year-old student was taken into custody Tuesday after authorities say he fatally shot three students and injured eight other people, including a teacher, at a high school near Detroit.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said it received reports of an active shooter around 12:51 p.m. local time at Oxford High School in Oxford Township, a suburb about 40 miles north of Detroit.
The boy, a sophomore at the school, was taken into custody within minutes of the shooting, said Oakland County Undersheriff Mike Mccabe. A deputy assigned to the school as a school liaison helped get the suspect into custody. The suspect fired anywhere from 15 to 20 shots during the incident, Mccabe added.
“He didn’t give us any resistance when he was taken into custody,” Mccabe said. “The whole thing lasted 5 minutes.”
Authorities did not say whether anyone
was targeted and did not release any information about a motive. Mccabe said authorities were investigating whether there were any warnings ahead of the shooting or if the student had any history of violence. He added that students and others would be questioned.
One handgun, a semi-automatic, was recovered. The suspect, whose name was not released, invoked his right to remain silent and refused to speak in depth with authorities, Mccabe said.
“I’m shocked,” said Tim Throne, Oxford Community Schools Superintendent. “It’s devastating.”
Throne said the school doesn’t have metal detectors and didn’t believe there had been discussions about that in the past. Mccabe said authorities knew how the student brought in the weapon to the school but did not elaborate.
The identities of the victims were not immediately released.
The school was placed on lockdown, with some students sheltering in locked classrooms. They later were ushered to a parking lot of a nearby store after police secured the school and took the suspect into custody. Parents were told they could pick the students up at a nearby community center, the school district said.
Oxford Community Schools said all other schools in the area were on lockdown for safety purposes.
Officials were still sweeping the school Tuesday afternoon and a host of emergency vehicles were parked on the snow-covered lawn. Live streams from local TV news showed multiple medical helicopters landing at the school. At least one person was loaded into a helicopter around 2:30 p.m.