A 15-year-old sophomore opened fire at his Michigan high school on Tuesday, killing three students and wounding eight other people, including at least one teacher, authorities said.
The Oxford High School students killed were T. Myre, 16; H. St. Julian, 14, and M. Baldwin, 17, according to Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.
Eight others — seven students and a teacher — were shot. Three are in critical condition with gunshot wounds, including a 14-year-old girl who is on a ventilator after having surgery. A 14-year-old boy is in serious condition with a gunshot wound to the jaw and head. Three students are in stable condition and the teacher who was shot has been discharged.
Students have described hiding under desks during the attack. Some had stayed home on Tuesday because of safety concerns.
Police received emergency calls from the high school in the town of Oxford, about 40 miles (65km) from Detroit, at 12:51 local time (17:51GMT).
Within minutes, officials had received 100 calls to 911, Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe told reporters.
Officials say the suspect, a 15-year-old boy, surrendered five minutes after police were called.
No shots were fired during the arrest, and the teenager was not injured.
Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe said at a news conference that investigators were still trying to determine a motive for the shooting at Oxford High School in Oxford Township, a community of about 22,000 people roughly 30 miles north of Detroit.
He said he was aware of allegations circulating on social media that there had been threats of a shooting at the roughly 1,700-student school prior to Tuesday’s attack, but he cautioned against believing that narrative until investigators can look into it.
The school was placed on lockdown after the attack, with some children sheltering in locked classrooms while officers searched the premises. They were later taken to a nearby Meijer grocery store to be picked up by their parents.
According to the Detroit Free Press newspaper, rumours had been circulating of a possible attack, and some students had decided not to attend classes on Tuesday. Parent Jody Job told the paper that her son had skipped school because “he felt like something was going to go down”. Robin Redding told the Associated Press that her son had also missed classes due to concerns about safety. “He was not in school today,” she said. “He just said that ‘Ma I don’t feel comfortable. None of the kids that we go to school with are going today.’” President Joe Biden spoke about the shooting during a visit to Minneapolis, Minnesota. “My heart goes out to the families enduring the unimaginable grief of losing a loved one,” he said.
Watch: Michigan High School shooter trying to entice a classroom of kids to open up their door.