School shootings have become a tragically common event in the United States, where around one-third of adults own a firearm and limits on obtaining even powerful military-style guns are loose.
Polls suggest that a majority of people want tougher limitations on the use and purchase of firearms, but the powerful gun ownership lobby opposes new restrictions, and lawmakers have consistently failed to act.
“An additional nine taken to various hospitals with injuries. Suspect in custody and alive. Reports that the suspect has been ‘neutralized’ are inaccurate,” the bureau said in a social media post.
Earlier, school authorities were reported to have sent a message to parents saying they were enforcing a “hard lockdown after reports of gunfire.”
After the all-clear was given, parents were invited to the school to be reunited with their children, with long lines of vehicles visible outside.
A student told local media that he saw blood on the floor and a body as he was led out of the building by authorities.
“I heard gunshots go off… I thought it was fake until I heard more gunshots and screaming,” said the male student, whose name was not given by the Fox 5 News channel.
On Wednesday morning, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper quoted 11th grade student Henry van der Walt as texting his mother that he thought “there’s a school shooting.”
Minutes later, he texted: “I love you.”
Local television footage showed ambulances driving across a school field about two hours after the attack was first reported, with scores of vehicles parked around the school.
The shooting occurred near the town of Winder, about 45 miles (70 kilometers) northeast of Atlanta, the state capital.
US President Joe Biden said he was mourning the dead.
“Students across the country are learning how to duck and cover instead of how to read and write. We cannot continue to accept this as normal,” he said, referring to the frequency of such attacks across the country.
School shootings have become a tragically common event in the United States, where around one-third of adults own a firearm and limits on obtaining even powerful military-style guns are loose.
Polls suggest that a majority of people want tougher limitations on the use and purchase of firearms, but the powerful gun ownership lobby opposes new restrictions, and lawmakers have consistently failed to act.
Gun violence ‘epidemic’
Following the shooting, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at a campaign event in New Hampshire, stating that it was time to address the “epidemic of gun violence.”
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump described the shooter as a “sick and deranged monster.”
According to the Gun Violence Archive, at least 384 mass shootings have occurred in the United States this year, with at least four victims killed or injured.
According to the GVA, at least 11,557 persons have died as a result of gun violence this year.