Sheriff says up to 10 killed in Texas high school shooting
Two suspects believed to be students are in custody; Trump tweets that ‘early reports not looking good. God bless all!’
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SANTA FE, Texas — At least one gunman opened fire at a Houston-area high school Friday, killing eight to 10 people, most of them students, authorities said.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said he could not be precise about the number of deaths at Santa Fe High School, which went on lockdown around 8 a.m. Two suspects believed to be students were in custody.
The school district confirmed an unspecified number of injuries but said it would not immediately release further details. Assistant Principal Cris Richardson said a suspect had been arrested.
“We hope the worst is over, and I really can’t say any more about that because it would be pure speculation,” Richardson told reporters at the scene.
Aerial footage showed students standing in a grassy field and three medical helicopters landing at the school in Santa Fe, a city of about 13,000 residents roughly 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Houston.
US Vice President Mike Pence said he and President Donald Trump have been briefed on the school shooting.
Pence said the students, families, teachers and all those affected should know: “‘We’re with you. You’re in our prayers and I know you are in the prayers of the American people.”
Trump added in a tweet that, “Early reports not looking good. God bless all!”
School shooting in Texas. Early reports not looking good. God bless all!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 18, 2018
First lady Melania Trump also weighed on Twitter. She says, “My heart goes out to Santa Fe and all of Texas today.”
School officials said law enforcement officers were working to secure the building and move students to another location. Students were being transported to another location to reunite with their parents.
One student told Houston television station KTRK in a telephone interview that a gunman came into her first-period art class and started shooting. The student said she saw one girl with blood on her leg as the class evacuated the room.
“We thought it was a fire drill at first but really, the teacher said, ‘Start running,'” the student told the television station.
The student said she did not get a good look at the shooter because she was running away. She said students escaped through a door at the back of the classroom.
Authorities did not immediately confirm that report.
The US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it was also responding to the shooting.
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