Michigan Teen Suspect Fired 15 to 20 Rounds, Won’t Cooperate With Police: Official

Michigan Teen Suspect Fired 15 to 20 Rounds, Won’t Cooperate With Police: Official
Parents walk away with their children from the Meijer's parking lot where many students gathered following an active shooter situation at Oxford High School in Oxford, Mich., on Nov. 30, 2021. Eric Seals/USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters
Isabel van Brugen
Updated:
A teenager suspected of fatally shooting three students and injuring scores more at a high school in Michigan on Tuesday fired 15 to 20 rounds, and is refusing to cooperate with police after being taken into custody, authorities said. 

A boy and two girls were killed in the shooting incident at Oxford High School in Oxford, Michigan. They have been identified as 16-year-old Tate Myre, 14-year-old Hanna St. Juliana, and 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin.

Eight others, including a teacher, sustained gunshot wounds in the attack, according to authorities. Their identities have not been revealed.

Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe told reporters during a press conference on Tuesday evening that two individuals were in surgery and six were in stable condition.

The suspected shooter, a 15-year-old male student, was believed to have acted alone and was arrested with “no resistance” after firing 15 to 20 shots, McCabe said. 

“The whole thing lasted five minutes,” McCabe said.

McCabe added that the 15-year-old is refusing to cooperate with police and demanded his right to a lawyer on being advised not to speak by his parents. 

The identity of the suspect and a motive haven’t been disclosed.

McCabe said the teenager is being held at the Oakland County Children’s Village and is lodged as a juvenile, noting however that the county prosecutor could charge him as an adult.

McCabe said officers received a flood of 911 calls about an active shooter at the Michigan high school at around 12.55 p.m., and a semi-automatic handgun and several magazines were recovered by authorities.

“Deputies confronted him, he had the weapon on him, they took him into custody,” McCabe said.

Student Abbey Hodder told the Detroit Free Press she was in chemistry class when she heard the sound of glass breaking.

“My teacher kind of ran out and was scrambling,” Hodder, 15, told the newspaper. “The next thing I knew I saw he was pushing tables. It’s part of school protocol to barricade, so we all knew, barricade, barricade down. And we all started pushing tables.”

A video posted on social media showed students huddled in a barricaded classroom while someone outside shouts through the door that it is safe to come out, identifying himself as being with the sheriff’s office.

McCabe praised the school for its preparation for a shooting and an orderly evacuation.

“My heart goes out to the families enduring the unimaginable grief of losing a loved one,” President Joe Biden told reporters while touring a Minnesota technical college. 

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said in a statement that the suspect will remain in custody pending appropriate charges.

“It is our intent to review it (the investigation) thoroughly and issue appropriate charges quickly,” McDonald said. 
Reuters contributed to this report.
Isabel van Brugen
Isabel van Brugen
Reporter
Isabel van Brugen is an award-winning journalist. She holds a master's in newspaper journalism from City, University of London.
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