People are evacuated from Chardon High School in Chardon, Ohio, about 30 miles east of Cleveland, after a number of students were shot there at the beginning of the school day Monday, Feb. 27, 2012. Officials said the number of victims is not yet known and a suspect has been taken into custody. (AP Photo/The Plain Dealer, John Horton)
VIDEO
Ohio School Shooting Press Conference
Chardon Police Chief Tim McKenna briefs the media on the shooting details.
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Live Audio: Chardon High School
courtesy RadioReference.com
Earlier Dispatch and Incident Audio
courtesy of AlertPage
CHARDON, Ohio (AP) — A gunman opened fire inside a high school cafeteria at the start of the school day Monday, killing one student and wounding four others, authorities said. A suspect — believed to be a student — was arrested a short distance away.
The suspect was taken into custody near his car a half-mile from the suburban Cleveland school, the FBI said.
FBI agent Scott Wilson would not comment on a possible motive for the attack.
Panicked students screamed and ran through the halls when gunfire broke out around 7:30 a.m. at 1,100-student Chardon High School.
Heather Ziska, 17, said she was in the cafeteria when she and other students heard popping noises in the hall. She said she saw a boy 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.
"Everybody just started running," said 17-year-old Megan Hennessy, who was in class when she heard loud noises. "Everyone was running and screaming down the hallway."
Five students were taken to Cleveland-area hospitals, officials said. One student later died, Police Chief Timothy McKenna said. The suspect is a juvenile who was not immediately charged. His name was not released.
The condition of the wounded students was not disclosed.
Students at the high school and the middle school had already started their day when the shooting happened, but bus runs for elementary school children were stopped. All classes in the district were canceled.
Parents of high school students were told to go to an elementary school to pick up their children. Anxious parents could be seen escorting children away.
Chardon, a town of about 5,100 people, is about 30 miles east of Cleveland.
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AP writers Dan Sewell in Cincinnati and Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Columbus contributed to this report.
Related:
- WTOL: Shooting at Chardon High School, one suspect in custody
- WTSP: Shooting at Ohio High School, gunman on the loose
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