Kentucky school shooting leaves 2 dead, several others wounded

Tragedy has struck the campus of Marshall County High School

Jan 23, 2018

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On Tuesday morning, a shooter opened fire at Marshall County High School in Kentucky, killing two people and injuring twelve others.

Gov. Matt Bevin said at a news conference that fourteen people were injured during the shooting, with one boy and one girl fatally injured. Both victims were 15 years old. Seventeen others were reportedly injured in the shooting but were not shot, reports the New York Times.

Kentucky State Police Commissioner Richard W. Sanders said that the girl died on the scene, while the boy died in a hospital. No information has yet been provided on the status of the other injured students.

A 15-year-old male student, who has arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder, entered the school at 8:57 a.m. and began firing using a handgun, according to Sanders.

Authorities have not yet given a motive for the shooting.

“It is unbelievable that this would happen in a small, close-knit community like Marshall County,” Bevin said in a statement. “This is a tremendous tragedy and speaks to the heartbreak present in our communities.”

A heroic student and teacher

One of the hospitalized students was Daniel Austin, a 17-year-old special needs student, according to CNN. Austin’s mother, Andrea, said that her son was shot in the arm and might lose that arm but praised the heroic actions of a student and teacher who got him in a car and rushed him to the hospital after the shooting stopped.

Andrea Austin was shocked by the violence and struggled to understand how it could happen to her loving son.

“Teachers love him. Students love him. I don’t think anyone can say one bad thing about him,” she said. “And that’s not because I’m his mom. Everybody loves him.”

This is the second school shooting in as many days. A 15-year-old female student was shot in Italy, Texas, and had to be taken to a Dallas hospital by helicopter.

A 16-year-old male suspect was apprehended, but no motive has been provided for that shooting either, leaving two communities reeling from violence and looking for answers.