4 hurt as student opens fire in Ohio school cafeteria

[webfact]

4 hurt as student opens fire in Ohio school cafeteria
LISA CORNWELL, Associated Press

HAMILTON, Ohio (AP) — A 14-year-old boy pulled out a gun in a school cafeteria Monday and opened fire, hitting two students, and then ran from the school, threw the weapon down and was apprehended nearby with the help of a police dog, authorities said.

Two other Madison Local Schools students also were injured, possibly from shrapnel or while running away. None of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening, said Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones.

Jones said the 14-year-old was a student and there was a motive to the shooting which he did not identify. The boy was charged preliminarily with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault, inducing panic and making terrorist threats, Jones said.

Students were eating in the cafeteria when the shooting happened around 11:30 a.m., Jones said. Afterward, classmates described a chaotic scene where they weren't sure what was happening at first. Some students fled outside.

One student mistook the first shot for a potato chip bag being popped.

Thirteen-year-old Shelby Kinnin said she heard "a couple of bangs" and realized she was near the shooter.

"I didn't really know it was gunshots until I looked over and a kid was grabbing his leg and falling over," she said.

Many people ran from the scene, and the shooter went out a door, she said. She recognized him as a boy who was in a class with her last year, though she wasn't sure of his name.

Her stepmother, Stephanie Kinnin, said it was unnerving to see emergency responders swarm the school.

"There is no feeling like that in the world," she said. "But my eyes found the children walking out looking for parents, and that was heartbreaking. Their eyes just told the story."

The students who were shot — ages 14 and 15 — were taken to a hospital where they were in stable condition, investigators said. A 14-year-old boy and 14-year-old girl were also injured, though it was unclear how, Jones said.

"We don't know if it was from the shooting or from exiting the school or because of the shrapnel from the bullets hitting into that small of an area," Jones said.

All other students were safe, according to the school website. The school, which had practiced for such an event, immediately went into lockdown, said district spokeswoman A.J. Huff.

School was cancelled Tuesday along with extracurricular events, although staff was expected to report to plan a response once students returned.

The campus is near Middletown, roughly 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Cincinnati. State records show enrollment of about 250 junior high and 500 high school students.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican running for president, said on a campaign stop in Vermont he'd been briefed but didn't give details.

"Obviously it was a tragedy, but thank God that no life was lost," Kasich said.
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Associated Press writers Kantele Franko, Julie Carr Smyth and Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Columbus and John Seewer in Toledo contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2016-03-01

[Rob13]

Seems to be happening about twice a week now.

[NeilSA1]

How did he acquire the weapon? The licenced owner should be held accountable if the weapon was not safely locked away.

[sunnyjim5]

Land of the Free where Gun Control is a couple of offensive words.

As this report shows even the kids have easy access to lethal weaponry !

Let us hope the Justice System is not influenced by bleeding heart apologists and that this dangerous person is placed behind bars for a very long time.

[vogie]

How did he acquire the weapon? The licenced owner should be held accountable if the weapon was not safely locked away.

Easy, just because you hold a licence doesn't necessarily make you responsible.

[notbkk]

Yeaaaaaaah! Give them more guns! Vote Republican...

[sunnyjim5]

How did he acquire the weapon? The licenced owner should be held accountable if the weapon was not safely locked away.

Easy, just because you hold a licence doesn't necessarily make you responsible.

How can you be sure there was a licence ?

Are all guns in "Gung Ho" land licenced and strictly controlled ?

[scorecard]

How did he acquire the weapon? The licenced owner should be held accountable if the weapon was not safely locked away.

Easy, just because you hold a licence doesn't necessarily make you responsible.

How's that?

[SABloke]

Now if only the condiments were allowed to carry guns...

[erobando]

Nothing wrong with a children owning a gun, as long as they learn to shoot their wads responsibly. You don't want a bunch of adult first-time gun owners any more than you want adults who can't read.

However, IMHO - and I might be in the minority here - a school cafeteria is not an appropriate place for gunplay. Luckily, in this incident, no one got hurt except for a few students... but what will happen next time?

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

The only thing that will stop a bad 14 year old at school with a gun is a good 14 year old at school with a gun.

[GeorgesAbitbol]

How did he acquire the weapon? The licenced owner should be held accountable if the weapon was not safely locked away.

the answer is : he acquired his weapon EASILY

[GeorgesAbitbol]

Nothing wrong with a children owning a gun, as long as they learn to shoot their wads responsibly. You don't want a bunch of adult first-time gun owners any more than you want adults who can't read.

However, IMHO - and I might be in the minority here - a school cafeteria is not an appropriate place for gunplay. Luckily, in this incident, no one got hurt except for a few students... but what will happen next time?

Yeah it is well known you have all the maturity needed to have a weapon at 14.

Pushing kids and teenagers into this habit is just plain stupid

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

One of those areas/issues where the U.S. is doing its best at trying to outdo Thailand in societal stupidity.

U.S. multiple-victim shootings are getting to be the U.S.'s version of Thailand's "death by roadway" epidemic.

[Andaman Al]

No news here, this is normal accepted (expected ?) school cafeteria behaviour. Something that happens everyday is not news. (what a terrible indictment on a society).

I still think Chris Rock has the best solution - make guns available to anyone, but make bullets 10K $ each!