OXFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP/WWJ) — A 15-year-old sophomore opened fire at his Michigan high school on Tuesday, killing three students and wounding six other people, including a teacher, authorities said.
The Oakland County Sheriff's Office said it received a hundred 911 calls about an "active shooter" at Oxford High School in Oxford Township, just before 1 p.m. Tuesday.
Undersheriff Mike McCabe said there were three student fatalities and six people wounded, including a teacher.
"The whole thing lasted five minutes," he added.
The alleged shooter was arrested at the scene, McCabe said, and police do not believe there are any additional shooters at this time.
McCabe said the shooter used a semiautomatic handgun, which has been recovered.
Oxford High School Junior Norah Wright, who was in the school at the time of the shooting, told WWJ's Jon Hewett her afternoon class had just begun when she looked out the window and saw students running outside in the snow.
The suspect, identified as a 15-year-old sophomore at the school, did not fire on police and "offered no resistance" as he was arrested, McCabe said.
"Everyone was just kind of confused about what they were doing...and then we kept hearing gunshots," the teen said. "And then we immediately went under the desks and our teacher locked the door."
"It was a few (gunshots) and then it stopped for a second, and then there were more," Wright told Hewett. "And it did that a few times, and there was nothing else."
"There was an orderly evacuation; the school did everything right," McCabe said. "Everybody remained in place, they barricaded themselves."
McCabe said officers were doing a secondary search of the school for any additional victims.
Even before the school district sent an alert to parents saying there was an "active emergency" and a lockdown at the school, social media was lit up with posts about the developing situation.
There is no further information at this time about those who were shot, including the conditions of those who survived.
McCabe said all evacuated students were moved to the Meijer store on N. Lapeer Rd. for reunification with parents or relatives.
There is no known motive at this time. McCabe said the suspect is not talking to police. "He's already invoked his right to not speak," McCabe said. "So he wants an attorney. He's not telling us anything."
There remains massive police presence on the scene at the school, on N. Oxford Rd. Tipsters counted dozens of emergency vehicles on Lapeer Road, and there is no access to the school campus at this time. Multiple patrol units and multiple EMS units on scene, along with SWAT and an Aviation Unit.
"We had about 25 agencies that responded, close to 60 ambulance. We had a couple of helicopters land also," said John Lyman with the Rochester Hills Fire Department. "...We did transport multiple patients to area hospitals."
Lapeer Schools were also on lockdown out of an abundance of caution, but that lockdown has since been lifted.
President Joe Biden has been briefed about the shooting, according to a White House spokesperson, and will receive updates about the situation.
Oxford Schools Superintendent Tim Throne asked for prayers for Oxford families. "Of course I'm shocked," he said. "It's devastating."
A prayer vigil open to all was planned for 7 p.m. Tuesday at LakePoint Community Church on Drahner Rd.
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