Benton, Kentucky: A 15-year-old, male student was arrested on murder charges after allegedly opening fire in the Marshall County High School, killing two students and wounding 14 others. The motive is unknown at this time. The boy illegally obtained the gun and he illegally used it in a gun-free zone. [Let’s hear it for gun-control laws.] -GEG
Another high school has turned into a scene of carnage, this time in western Kentucky.
Sixteen people were wounded, two of them fatally, after a shooter opened fire Tuesday morning at Marshall County High School, authorities said. Four others sustained various injuries.
A 15-year-old male student was arrested at the scene, Gov. Matt Bevin said. On Wednesday he was charged with two counts of murder and 12 counts of first degree assault, Marshall County Assistant Attorney Jason Darnall told reporters.
After the boy has a probable cause hearing and a detention hearing in the next two days, prosecutors will start the process of charging him as an adult, Darnall said.
A grand jury will meet on February 13, and the charges could change, Darnall said.
Authorities identified the slain victims as Bailey Holt and Preston Cope, both 15. Bailey died at the high school, and Preston died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, according to Kentucky State Police Commissioner Richard W. Sanders.
Bailey Holt and Preston Cope, both 15, were killed in the shooting.
Sanders said the suspect, armed with a handgun, walked into the school at 8:57 a.m. ET and started shooting. The first 911 call came two minutes later.
The victims ranged from 14 to 18, state police said. Fourteen were male and six female.
‘Mom, there’s been a shooting’
Some parents said their children told them the shooting started in the commons area before class, CNN affiliate WSMV reported.
Missy Hufford said her son, Ethan, 15, ran into the gymnasium and out of the building through a side door. Then he called and asked her to pick him up, she said.
“I know when he called me, he said, ‘Mom, there’s been a shooting.’ And I asked him if he was OK, and he said, ‘I’m running,’ ” WSMV reported.
Misty Green said her daughter, Morgan, was in the commons area and “heard the ‘pop, pop, pop’ and initially got down, and then just realized what was going on, so they took out running out of the building as fast as they could.”
“And teachers were grabbing kids up and helping them get into safe places. And helping them get outside and get to a safe location,” Green told WSMV.
This is about the shooting in the school. The school is responsible for the safety of the children who have to be there under Law. The fact that the staff cannot protect the children simply means the whole system is insane. The parents are insane for allowing their children to be kept in a compromised situation where the means of their defense has been taken away from school administration. I believe that this situation is set up to cause precisely the horrors that have taken place. This advances the so-called logic for gun controls. I’m not aware of any of… Read more »