Search icon

News

01st Dec 2021

Three children killed in school shooting in Michigan

Ellen Fitzpatrick

Eight have been injured.

Three children in the United States have been killed after a student opened fire on his high school in Michigan.

Three fellow students have been pronounced dead after the tragedy, with eight others injured including one teacher, according to BBC News.

Officials say that a 16 year old boy and two girls aged 14 and 17 were killed in the shooting, with the alleged suspect using a handgun that his father had bought on Friday.

Police received a call from the high school in Oxford, which is around 40 miles from Detroit, at around 1pm local time and had 100 calls to 911 within minutes, according to Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe.

The suspect is a 15 year old boy and is said to have surrendered five minutes after police were called to the scene.

There were no shots made during the arrest and the teenager was not injured, revealing he had been in class before beginning to fire in the school.

Oakland County Sheriff, Mike Bouchard, said that officers took down the shooter while he still had seven rounds of ammunition in the gun.

He also said that the male who was shot died in a local deputy’s car before being able to be transported to hospital.

The school was evacuated and three separate sweeps of the scene were carried out to ensure no victims were left behind.

Two that have been injured have undergone surgery while six are said to be in a stable condition.

Those who have been wounded range from ages 14 to 17, with the teacher being discharged from hospital, according to reports.

Later in a news conference, officials said they do not have a motive for the shooting and the suspect is not cooperating with authorities.

“The person that’s got the most insight and the motive is not talking,” Sheriff Bouchard told reporters.

McCabe added that the teenager has been instructed by his parents not to speak to police and they were searching his home.

All schools are now closed for the remainder of the week and crisis support is open to students and parents.

According to the Detroit Free Press newspaper, rumours had been circulating about an upcoming incident, and a number of students decided not to come into school on Tuesday to avoid it.

US President Joe Biden spoke about the shooting during a visit to Minneapolis, Minnesota, saying: “My heart goes out to the families enduring the unimaginable grief of losing a loved one.”