St Louis school shooting - latest: Orlando Harris had AR-15, 600 rounds and manifesto praising mass shooters
Armed responders shoot dead attacker, named by police as 19-year-old Orlando Harris
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The gunman who shot dead a teacher and pupil in St Louis was identified on Monday evening as a former pupil of the city’s Central VPA High School, where the attack took place.
The attacker, named by police as 19-year-old Orlando Harris, was shot dead by armed responders. He graduated from the school last year.
The authorities noted that it could have been much worse.
“The individual had almost a dozen 30-round … high-capacity magazines on him. That’s a whole lot of victims there,” Police Commissioner Michael Sack said, according to CNN.
He left a note in his car with a list of other school shootings in the US, with the names of the gunmen and the number of people killed, and expressed his desire to be the next name on it.
“I don’t have any friends, I don’t have any family. I’ve been an isolated loner my whole life. This was a perfect storm for a mass shooting,” Harris wrote.
Eight victims were transported to hospital for injuries ranging from gunshot wounds to a broken ankle.
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The father of Alexandria Bell, the 15-year-old killed in the St Louis school shooting, called the situation a “nightmare”.
“I am so upset. I need somebody – police, community folks, somebody – to make this make sense,” he told KSDK.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, a Michigan prosecutor involved in a trial following a school shooting in the state earlier this year, said “the fact that there is another school shooting does not surprise me – which is horrific”, according to CNN. “We need to keep the public and inform the public … on how we can prevent gun violence. It is preventable, and we should never ever allow that to be something we just should have to live with.”
How gunman gained entrance to school remains unclear as police works to avoid repeat
How the gunman in St Louis entered the school remains unclear.
The doors were locked and Orlando Harris didn’t enter through one of the checkpoints where guards are stationed.
“I don’t want to make this easy for anybody else,” Police Commissioner Mike Sack said when declining to speak about how Harris got inside.
He added that Harris didn’t conceal his firearm when entering.
“When he entered, it was out … there was no mystery about what was going to happen,” he said, according to CNN. “He had it out and entered in an aggressive, violent manner.”
Police share images of gun and ammo used in shooting
Everything we know about St Louis school shooting that left three dead
A gunman shot and killed two victims at a St Louis high school before being fatally shot by police officers at the scene.
News video captured students fleeing for safety as the incident took place at the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in south St Louis, Missouri, on Monday morning.
The gunman, who was pronounced dead at a hospital, was identified as 19-year-old Orlando Harris, a graduate of the school. He was armed with a long gun and nearly a dozen high capacity magazines, officials said.
The two victims killed were named as 15-year-old student Alexandria Bell and 61-year-old physical education teacher Jean Kuczka.
Here’s what we know about the shooting so far:
Everything we know about St Louis school shooting that left three dead
The gunman killed a teacher and student before being fatally shot by responding police officers
PHOTOS: Residents and visitors hold vigil for victims
St Louis gunman Orlando Harris left ‘manifesto’ with list of school shooters and their death tolls
The suspect in the St Louis school shooting left a note in his car with a list of other school shootings in the US, with the names of the gunmen and the number of killed people, and expressed his desire to be the next name on it.
Suspected gunman Orlando Harris, 19, also had a map of the school in his car and laid out his attack in detail ahead of time, authorities announced at a Tuesday press conference.
The note included details concerning how Harris obtained the weapon used in the attack – an AR-15-style rifle - revealing that he bought it from a private dealer after being rejected at a gun show in St Charles County.
The interim chief of the St Louis police department Michael Sack read from the note during the press conference a day after Harris allegedly shot eight people - killing two - at the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in south St Louis, Missouri, on Monday morning.
“I don’t have any friends, I don’t have any family. I’ve been an isolated loner my whole life. This was a perfect storm for a mass shooting,” Harris wrote.
Read more:
St Louis gunman Orlando Harris made list of school shooters with their death tolls
‘I’ve been an isolated loner my whole life. This was a perfect storm for a mass shooting,’ suspect wrote in left behind note
Teacher who fled St Louis mass shooter discovers own son among victims
Teacher Manfret McGhee survived the St Louis school shooting with his son, who was shot during the ordeal.
Mr McGhee was forced to run for his life as he was narrowly missed by a bullet in the hallway of the school.
He serves as the Dean of Arts at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School where his son Anthony, 16, was shot on Monday.
Anthony was in health class and Mr McGhee was in a meeting when the shooting began.
“I stepped into the hallway to find out a little more about what was going on and at that moment the shooter was in the hallway and fired a shot at myself and another coworker,” Mr McGhee told KSDK.
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Teacher who fled St Louis mass shooter discovers own son among victims
‘I saw a massive hole in his pant leg and all I could think of was, ‘My God, what did he get shot with?’’
Orlando Harris: What we know about former student, 19, who killed two in St Louis school shooting
The gunman in the deadly St Louis, Missouri, school shooting has been identified as 19-year-old Orlando Harris.
Harris entered the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School (CVPA) in St Louis City on Monday morning and opened fire, killing a teacher and a student and wounding several others, according to police.
Gunfire broke out between Harris and the St Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the gunman was killed.
Police say that Harris graduated from the school last year. According to KMOV, Harris didn’t appear to have a significant presence on social media.
The authorities said Harris had a dozen of high-capacity magazines as well as a long gun.
Read more:
Orlando Harris: What we know about former student gunman in St Louis school shooting
‘There are suspicions that there may have been some mental illness that he was experiencing,’ police chief says