Florida shooting: 17 dead in 'absolutely pure evil' high school massacre in Parkland - as it happened
The suspect has been identified as 19-year-old former student, who was once expelled from the school
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Your support makes all the difference.Seventeen people have been killed and more than a dozen injured after a gunman opened fire at a Florida high school.
Aerial footage showed students streaming out of the school with their hands in the air before dropping their backpacks into a large pile next to police and sitting on nearby grass. Parents were instructed to meet at a location away from the school, where they waited anxiously to be reunited with their children.
The carnage began shortly before school was to be let out at 2.40 pm, when the sound of gunfire ripped through the air.
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Sheriff Scott Israel of Broward County said the 19-year-old suspect - identified in media reports as Nikolaus Cruz - is in custody and that investigators are beginning to "dissect" what happened in the attack.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, about 45 miles (72 km) north of Miami, was placed on a “code red” lock down, and students tweeted and texted from inside about the chaos that had come down upon their school.
Of the fatalities, 12 were killed inside the school, two were killed outside on the campus grounds, one was killed on a road outside of the school, and another two were transported to the hospital but died there.
Sheriff Israel said the suspect, a former student, was previously expelled for disciplinary reasons. Mr Israel added that the gunman had at least one rifle - believed to be an AR-15 - and multiple magazines.
The White House has cancelled its daily press briefing and President Donald Trump has spoken with Florida Governors Rick Scott about the shooting. He said in a tweet that the White House is “working closely with law enforcement on the terrible Florida school shooting.”
He earlier tweeted his condolences to the families of the victims.
Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Mr Trump has offered Florida federal assistance, if needed. The homeland security secretary has also been in touch with state and local officials.
Ms Sanders said, “We continue to keep the victims, and their friends and family, in our thoughts and prayers.”
Agencies contributed to this report
Florida Senator Marco Rubio has spoken out on the shooting, calling it "a terrible situation".
"It's amazing the amount of carnage that one individual could carry out in such a short period of time if it's well-orchestrated and planned," he said.
A sheriff says 17 people have died in the shooting attack on a South Florida high school.
Sheriff Scott Israel of Broward County says the 19-year-old suspect is in custody and that investigators are beginning to "dissect" what happened in the attack Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
He says the suspect, a former student, was previously expelled for disciplinary reasons.
Israel says the man had at least one rifle and multiple magazines.
He says most of the fatalities were inside the building though some were found fatally shot outside.
Below is a list of the other largest school shootings in US history
32 killed, Apr 16, 2007, Virginia Tech
27 killed, Dec 14, 2012, Sandy Hook Elementary School
18 killed, August 1, 1966, University of Texas
13 killed, Apr 20, 1999 - Columbine
Sheriff Scott Israel told reporters that 12 victims died in the building, three victims died outside, and two succumbed to their injuries in the hospital. Another 14 to 18 people were injured.
Authorities have identified the suspect as 19-year-old Nikolaus Cruz, a former student at the school. Mr Israel said the suspect had been expelled from the school before the shooting for "disciplinary reasons".
The sheriff said investigators have begun the work of combing through suspect Nikolaus Cruz's online life, which contained some "very disturbing" content.
People who have lost loved ones in previous mass shootings are weighing in, calling for action:
A note that the 17 people confirmed killed makes this one of America's top 10 deadliest mass shootings.
The shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado, which for a long time stood as the symbol of school shootings, is no longer among the 10 deadliest. Thirteen people died.
Three of the five deadliest — at a concert in Las Vegas, at a nightclub in Orlando, and at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas - have occurred in the last few years
At the Broward Health North hospital system, officials told reporters that the suspect was taken to the hospital and released to police custody. At this facility, three patients are in critical condition and three are in stable condition, as of around 7pm local time. Two died there.
The Broward County sheriff said that police found “very, very disturbing” material when searching the social media of MrCruz, the suspect: “We have already began to dissect his websites and the social media that he was on. Some of the things that have come to mind were very, very disturbing.”
Mr Cruz was also in possession of an AR-15 assault rifle.
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