The Latest: House speaker says Safe Schools Act should pass

GREAT MILLS, Md. (AP) — The Latest on the shooting at a Maryland high school (all times local):

4 p.m.

Maryland’s House speaker says lawmakers plan to pass legislation to make schools safer.

House Speaker Michael Busch, a Democrat, said Tuesday that his chamber has every intention of passing a Safe Schools Act.

Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, announced the legislation Feb. 28 after the school shooting in Florida.

It commits $125 million for capital improvements like secure doors and windows, metal detectors and security cameras. It also includes another $50 million annually to pay for school resource officers, counselors and technology.

Hogan says “it’s outrageous” that the legislature hasn’t taken action yet. There is less than three weeks left in the session.

———

1:35 p.m.

The sheriff says a 16-year-old girl is in critical condition with life-threatening injuries after a shooting at a high school in southern Maryland.

St. Mary’s County Tim Cameron says a 14-year-old boy was also hurt in the Tuesday morning shooting at Great Mills High School.

Cameron told a news conference that the shooter — who died after being confronted by a school resource officer — has been identified as a 17-year-old boy. Sheriff Cameron also said there’s an indication that a prior relationship existed between the shooter and the girl who was shot.

———

11:50 a.m.

A sheriff says the school resource officer who shot at the suspect during a shooting at a Maryland high school is unhurt.

Speaking at a news conference, St. Mary’s County Tim Cameron says the male student was armed with a handgun Tuesday morning when he wounded a female student and a male student just before classes began at Great Mills High School in southern Maryland.

Cameron says all three were hospitalized and the shooter was later pronounced dead.

Cameron says the shooter and the school resource officer both fired and it wasn’t immediately known if the officer’s bullet killed the suspect.

———

11:30 a.m.

A sheriff says the shooter at a Maryland high school has died after a school resource officer fired at him.

St. Mary’s County Tim Cameron told a news conference Tuesday morning that the shooter and the officer both fired a round and it wasn’t known if the officer’s bullet killed the suspect.

Cameron says a female student and a male student were also wounded in the shooting in a hallway at Great Mills High School in southern Maryland.

———

10:45 a.m.

The principal at the Maryland high school where there was a shooting Tuesday morning told parents last month that the school had investigated threats of a possible shooting and found they were “not substantiated.”

Great Mills High School Principal Jake Heibel told parents that school officials interviewed two students in February who were overheard mentioning a school shooting and found that they posed no threat. His letter was posted on the local news site The Bay Net.

But Heibel said the school still increased its security after social media posts about a possible school shooting “circulated quite extensively.”

St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Cpl. Julie Yingling says three people, including the shooter, were injured in Tuesday’s shooting.

———

10:15 a.m.

A sheriff’s spokeswoman says three people have been injured in a shooting at a high school in southern Maryland, including the shooter.

St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Cpl. Julie Yingling says there have been no fatalities in the Tuesday morning shooting at Great Mills High School.

Yingling says the two victims were shot, but she doesn’t know how the shooter was injured. She also didn’t have the identities of the any of the three injured.

She says all three had been transported to hospitals.

———

10 a.m.

FBI agents are on the scene of a shooting at a high school in southern Maryland.

FBI spokesman David Fitz says the agents are there to assist the local sheriff’s office and he had no immediate information about injuries or fatalities at Great Mills High School.

Agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have also been sent to the school.

The county sheriff said deputies are on the scene and that parents or guardians should stay away, going instead to Leonardtown High School to reunite with Great Mills students there.

———

9:30 a.m.

A sheriff’s spokeswoman says injuries have been reported after a shooting at a high school in southern Maryland.

St. Mary’s County sheriff’s spokeswoman Cpl. Julie Yingling says there are injuries Tuesday at Great Mills High School but she didn’t know how many or the severity of the injuries. She also said she had no information about fatalities.

Agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were headed to the scene.

The county sheriff said deputies are on the scene and that parents or guardians should stay away, going instead to Leonardtown High School to reunite with Great Mills students there.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Rep. Steny Hoyer tweeted that they’re monitoring reports and urged people to follow the instructions of local law enforcement at the scene.

———

9:10 a.m.

School officials report that there’s been a shooting at a Maryland high school, that the ‘event is contained’ and the campus is on lockdown.

Federal agents from the bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are going to the scene, their agency tweeted.

The St. Mary’s County Public Schools said on its website early Tuesday that there was a shooting at Great Mills High School, located in the southern end of the state.

The county sheriff said deputies are on the scene, and that parents or guardians should stay away, going instead to Leonardtown High School to reunite with Great Mills students there.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Rep. Steny Hoyer tweeted that they’re monitoring reports and urged people to follow the instructions of local law enforcement at the scene.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

For security, use of Google's reCAPTCHA service is required which is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

I agree to these terms.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.