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(CBS/AP) PERRY HALL, Md. - Police said a student has been shot and a suspect is in custody at a Maryland high school, CBS Baltimore station WJZ-TV reports.
Baltimore County Police are investigating the confirmed shooting at Perry Hall High School. Students told WJZ-TV that the suspect was a student, but it hasn't been confirmed whether the suspect attended Perry Hall.
"It appears this was a one-on-one grudge situation," a police source told CBS News, adding that police are "99 percent sure there is just one suspect."
Gerald Roman, an 11th grader, told WJZ-TV that a student came into the school cafeteria and shot another student. Teachers then tackled the gun-toting student, and a shot was fired at the cafeteria ceiling, Roman said. By then, a police officer entered the cafeteria and assisted the teachers who took down the student.
A patient is seen on a stretcher after a shooting at Perry Hall High School in Perry Hall, Md., Aug. 27, 2012.
The injured 17-year-old student was flown by medevac to Shock Trauma. The male student's condition is critical.
"It's horrible," said Roman. "I mean, you would think the school would have better security than this, maybe metal detectors."
A young man without a shirt was seen by WJZ-TV's helicopter being escorted to a police cruiser in handcuffs.
Calls started coming in Monday shortly before 11 a.m. Fire crews and police cars are on the scene. In the air, sharpshooters and helicopters can be seen. After the shooting, the school was put on lockdown for almost an hour.
Students were seen leaving the school in an orderly manner. Some are being evacuated to Perry Hall Shopping Center across the street from the school, where parents can meet them. Other students are also being diverted to Perry Hall Middle School and Joppa View Elementary School.
Monday was the first day of school in Perry Hall. About 2,300 students attend the school. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visited the school last week.
Perry Hall is a middle-class community along the Interstate 95 corridor, northeast of Baltimore city.
Baltimore County Police are investigating the confirmed shooting at Perry Hall High School. Students told WJZ-TV that the suspect was a student, but it hasn't been confirmed whether the suspect attended Perry Hall.
"It appears this was a one-on-one grudge situation," a police source told CBS News, adding that police are "99 percent sure there is just one suspect."
Gerald Roman, an 11th grader, told WJZ-TV that a student came into the school cafeteria and shot another student. Teachers then tackled the gun-toting student, and a shot was fired at the cafeteria ceiling, Roman said. By then, a police officer entered the cafeteria and assisted the teachers who took down the student.
A patient is seen on a stretcher after a shooting at Perry Hall High School in Perry Hall, Md., Aug. 27, 2012.
The injured 17-year-old student was flown by medevac to Shock Trauma. The male student's condition is critical.
"It's horrible," said Roman. "I mean, you would think the school would have better security than this, maybe metal detectors."
A young man without a shirt was seen by WJZ-TV's helicopter being escorted to a police cruiser in handcuffs.
Calls started coming in Monday shortly before 11 a.m. Fire crews and police cars are on the scene. In the air, sharpshooters and helicopters can be seen. After the shooting, the school was put on lockdown for almost an hour.
Students were seen leaving the school in an orderly manner. Some are being evacuated to Perry Hall Shopping Center across the street from the school, where parents can meet them. Other students are also being diverted to Perry Hall Middle School and Joppa View Elementary School.
Monday was the first day of school in Perry Hall. About 2,300 students attend the school. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visited the school last week.
Perry Hall is a middle-class community along the Interstate 95 corridor, northeast of Baltimore city.
Please read the report above to have a context on the discussion.
tldr: A 17-year-old student at Baltimore’s Perry Hall High School was shot on the first day of classes and taken to an area hospital, while the shooter has been apprehended by police.
Now, let's discuss a few things. Shooting incidents in the US are increasing. Let me lead you to a report on mass shooting in the US since Columbine. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/9414540/A-history-of-mass-shootings-in-the-US-since-Columbine.html
Going back, just from memory, I can name a few recent shootings: the Alabama shooting by a university professor, Colorado shooting at a TDKR premier, the most recent one before this in the Empire State, the one in Arizona injuring Congressman Gliffords.
What is motivating this? Shootings have happened before, but they seem more frequent now. Or do they seem more frequent only because media is so pervasive now (tv, internet, phones) that anything can be reported in real time? Or does media contribute to this phenomenon, encouraging shooting and desensitizing the would be shooters to it, whether they intend to shoot at a random mass or to a specific person? What is your opinion?