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.
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 whole thing lasted five minutes,” McCabe said.
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.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said in a statement that the suspect will remain in custody pending appropriate charges.