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Crime

Kentucky high school shooting leaves 2 dead

January 23, 2018

The attack by a student is the first fatal school shooting in the US since the beginning of the year. The suspected shooter opened fire shortly before the start of morning classes.

https://p.dw.com/p/2rOhF
Shooting at high school in Kentucky
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/S. Lance Dennee

A 15-year-old boy opened fire in a rural Kentucky high school on Tuesday, killing two students and injuring dozens in the US's first fatal school shooting of 2018.

Police arrested the student after the shooting at Marshall County High School in the small town of Benton. Officers secured the school grounds and students were transported to another nearby school.

"This is a tremendous tragedy and speaks to the heartbreak present in our communities," Governor Matt Bevin of the southeastern state of Kentucky said. "It is unbelievable that this would happen in a small, close-knit community like Marshall County."

The suspected shooter opened fire with a handgun in the school's atrium shortly before the start of morning classes at 8 a.m. local time (1300 UTC/GMT).

A 15-year-old girl was killed at the scene and a 15-year-old boy died after arriving at a local hospital.

Seventeen other students were injured — 12 of them with gunshot wounds.

Police said they would charge the suspected attacker with murder and attempted murder and are investigating the shooter's home and background.

The advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety says it has logged 283 school shootings in the US since 2013.

Read more: California shooting spree leaves four dead as school lockdown halts further tragedy

Read more: 'Americans are allowing the insanity of gun violence'

amp/msh (AFP, AP, dpa)