Suspect In Custody After 1 Student Killed, 4 Wounded In Shooting At Ohio High School

One student was killed and four were wounded during a shooting early Monday at an Ohio high school, authorities said. A suspect, whose name has not been released, is in police custody. Click below to find out more.

Civil deputy Erin Knife with the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office said the shooting was reported around 7:30 a.m. Monday at Chardon High School. The suspected gunman, believed to be a student, fled the school on foot and was later apprehended after turning himself in. Authorities have not released the juvenile’s name because he has not been charged yet.

Two of the male victims are in critical condition, another male is in serious condition and one female is in stable condition, according to the WKYC-TV. The situation is under control and an FBI SWAT team is on the scene, police said. A parent waiting outside the school told the station that her daughter sent her a text message, saying the shooting took place inside the cafeteria.

 A student who witnessed the shooting says it appeared the gunman was targeting a group of students sitting at a cafeteria table. Freshman Danny Komertz says he was just about to leave for his first-period health class Monday when he heard a loud popping sound and then saw the gunman open fire. He says one student who authorities say was killed was trying to get under a table to protect himself and shield his face. Komertz says the shooter was known as an outcast who had apparently been bullied.

 The 15-year-old Komertz says that there were at least 100 students in the cafeteria at the time and that most fled immediately as shots were fired. Student Heather Ziska, who was just feet away when the gunman opened fire, said a normal morning was interrupted by strange sounds in a hallway, then the sight of the gunman beginning to shoot.

 The 17-year-old junior said she and other students began hearing popping noises in a nearby hallway. Ziska said she then saw a boy with a gun who she recognized as a fellow student come into the cafeteria and start shooting. She said she and several others immediately ran outside, while other friends ran into a middle school and others locked themselves in a teachers’ lounge. The wounded students were reportedly airlifted to local hospitals. The 1,100-student high school is about 30 miles east of Cleveland.