An unidentified student opened fire in Alpine High School in west Texas during second period Thursday morning, wounding another female student before fatally shooting herself, CNN reports.
In response to the open fire on campus, the school was placed on lockdown as law enforcement officers rushed to the scene. In the confusion, CNN reports, a US marshal accidentally shot a Homeland Security agent. The agent is in stable condition.
While not much is known about the motive in the shooting, police did confirm that the wounded student is expected to live. The family of the female student who shot herself is cooperating in the investigation.
Alpine High School, located approximately 200 miles Southeast of El Paso, is the latest in an ongoing and tragic saga of high school shootings to take place since the infamous Columbine events, which occurred 17 years ago. With so many questions surrounding Thursday’s shooting, here’s everything you need to know about the latest gun violence incident.
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1. The shooter was a female student.
Contrary to the usual suspects, the AHS perpetrator was not a male.
2. The shooter was just a freshman in high school.
She was 14 years old and had only been in ninth grade for two weeks before deciding to kill herself and another student.
3. Alpine, TX has approximately 6,500 residents.
Similar to several other school shootings (Newtown, CT; Middletown, OH, Glendale, AZ), this too took place in a small town.
4. Alpine High School currently has an estimated 280 students enrolled.
Alpine is considered a tight-knight community.
5. Students weren’t evacuated until 9:40 am CST – 40 minutes after the initial shots were fired.
Faculty and staff were not aware of the severity of the situation when it originally occurred.
6. The initial shots fired took place outside a band hall restroom.
Most students didn’t know what was going on when the shooting took place.
7. An Alpine deputy happened to be located at the back of the high school when police were notified there was a shooting taking place on campus.
This same deputy entered the school and found the suspected shooter dead in the bathroom.
8. The gun believed to be used in the incident was recovered.
It was found in the bathroom.
9. Police patrolled the streets surrounding the high school with rifles after the shooting.
Police departments from other jurisdictions aided the Alpine police unit and federal task forces in securing the area.
10. After the original 9-1-1 calls, police believed two shooters were at large.
That fact was later amended to reflect one shooter, who was found dead.
11. The identity of the shooter and victim have not been released.
Names have not been released because both students are minors.