What began as a normal day turned into a nightmare for students and their entire community.
A lone gunman opened fire inside Oxford High School in Michigan, unleashing chaos and confusion throughout the school.
Eight people were wounded, including seven students and one teacher. Three of the wounded are listed in critical condition, including a 14-year-old girl currently on a ventilator following emergency surgery for her injuries.
Three teens were fatally shot; identified as 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana, 16-year-old Tate Myre, and 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin.
One student captured a video from inside a classroom during the shooting, and alleges the shooter was knocking on their door, claiming to be part of the Sheriff’s Department.
In the video, you can see confusion as students try to determine their safety. From the other side of the door, someone yells ,”Sheriff’s office, it’s safe to come out.”
One student is heard saying, “We’re not willing to take that risk right now.”
The voice from the other side said, “Come to the door and look at my badge, bro.”
The word “bro” was enough to trigger the skeptical students not to open the door.
“He said bro. Red flag,” one student said.
Then the students opened a window and climbed out to escape to safety. They ran across an outside courtyard and arrived at a door where an officer said, “You’re fine”.
A student named Isabele Flores spoke with TimCast and said she saw a teen boy bleeding from the face.
“I was walking to my class and I hear gunshots and I see a guy bleeding from his cheek,” she said. “And we all ran through the back where the pool is at, through the gym. We went through the back to where the houses were at. All I hear is five gunshots, non-stop, and kept going.”
The suspect, a 15-year-old sophomore, was taken into custody at about 12:56 p.m. without incident, said Oakland County Undersheriff Michael McCabe. The suspect is a student from Oxford Township.
Oakland County Undersheriff Michael McCabe said that he was arrested within five minutes of the first 911 call. That call came in at 12:51 p.m. by a school deputy that is assigned there.
More than 100 calls to 911 were made. About two to three minutes after officers arrived, they found the suspect and took him into custody without incident, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said.
The handgun used, a 9MM Sig Sauer SP2022 semi automatic pistol, was recovered, and the suspect was not wearing any body armor.
“He has already invoked his right to not speak,” McCabe said. “He wants an attorney, he is not telling us anything at this point in time. We believe he acted alone and don’t believe he planned this with anybody else.”
A search warrant was executed at the suspect’s home and authorities seized a phone and are examining other seized items.
While authorities were not aware of prior concerns, they are investigating pictures of a target and the weapon posted on social media by the suspect.
“I think this is every parent’s worst nightmare,” said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. “My heart goes out to the families. This is an unimaginable tragedy. I hope we can all rise to the occasion and wrap our arms around the families, the affected children and school personnel and this community.”
