The Oxford High School students killed were Tate Myre, 16; Hanna St. Julian, 14, and Madisyn Baldwin, 17, according to Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.
Bouchard said eight other people – seven students and a teacher – were shot. Three people are in critical condition with gunshot wounds, including a 14-year-old girl who is on a ventilator after surgery. A 14-year-old boy is in serious condition with gunshot wounds to the jaw and head, Bouchard said. The three students are in stable condition and the teacher who was shot has been released from the hospital.
“I think this is every parent’s worst nightmare,” said Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who added that school shootings were “a unique American problem that we need to address.”
“My heart goes out to the families. This is an unimaginable tragedy. I hope we can all get through this moment and put our arms around the families, the children. affected and the staff of this school and community,” Whitmer said.
Bouchard said there were many other non-life threatening injuries people suffered when they rushed out of the school. Most were treated and released at a staging area, he said.
The suspect, a sophomore at the school, was detained without incident two to three minutes after authorities responded to the shooting, Bouchard said. His parents hired an attorney and did not allow him to speak to police, Deputy Secretary Michael G. McCabe said.
The suspect is being held at the Oakland County Children’s Villages – a juvenile detention facility – and is on suicide watch where he is checked every 15 minutes, said David Coulter, Oakland County executive said.
How photography takes place
During a press conference late Tuesday, Bouchard gave some more details about the shooting.
The semi-automatic pistol recovered by law enforcement was purchased by the suspect’s father on Friday, he said.
The weapon, a 9MM Sig Sauer SP2022 pistol loaded at the time it was seized, still contained seven rounds of ammunition, Bouchard said.
A video camera on campus shows the gunman “coming out of the bathroom with a weapon,” but it’s unclear where the gunman went next, the sheriff said.
Law enforcement arrived at the school within minutes of the emergency call about the shooting.
“As they were walking down the hallway, they saw him. He raised his hand, they took the gun and took him into custody,” Bouchard said.
The sheriff said a co-pilot loaded Myre into their vehicle, but the 16-year-old died en route to the hospital. An operator also had a relative killed in the shooting.
“This touched us personally and deeply and will last. This wound will never heal,” Bouchard said.
Authorities recovered several shell casings from the school and believe 15-20 shots were fired. McCabe said earlier on Tuesday there was no indication that the suspect was wearing body armor.
“At this point, we believe he acted alone,” McCabe said. He said authorities were aware of how the suspect allegedly got the gun into the school, but declined to divulge those details.
All evacuated students were relocated to a nearby store to be reunited with loved ones. About 25 agencies and nearly 60 ambulances responded, according to John Lyman, public information officer for the Rochester Hills Fire Department.
The families of the victims have been notified. It is currently unknown whether the three students killed were the target, McCabe said.
“We did three raids on the high school to make sure there were no other victims,” he said. “We have no motive at this point. We are still investigating that.”
McCabe said a search warrant was executed at the suspect’s home. Bouchard said authorities seized a phone and checked other seized items.
While Bouchard said authorities were not aware of prior concerns, they are also investigating photos of targets and weapons posted by the suspect on social media.
McCabe said the suspect could be charged as an adult, but that depends on the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office. Prosecutor Karen D. McDonald said in a statement Tuesday her office has “initiated the process of receiving information relevant to the investigation” into the shooting.
“I am both horrified and saddened to learn of the shooting at Oxford High School this afternoon. My office and I have been in regular contact with the Sheriff’s Office, Oakland County Juvenile Court and other agencies. law enforcement and other governments,” McDonald said. “Our aim is to scrutinize and quickly make appropriate charges.”
The director of Oxford Academy, Tim Throne, said at the press conference the shooting left him in shock. “It was devastating,” he said.
Throne declined to say why there were no metal detectors on campus, but did say to his knowledge metal detectors were never mentioned prior to the shooting.
“The vast majority of schools in the US don’t have metal detectors,” Bouchard said.
Students recount obstacles in the classroom
Aiden Page, a senior at Oxford High School, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Tuesday that the shooter was so close to his classroom that a bullet went through one of the desks that Page and his classmates were holding. other students used to fence the door.
Page said things took a turn when he, the other students and his teacher heard two gunshots.
“We heard two gunshots and then my teacher ran into the room, locked the door, barricaded it and then we covered the window and hid,” he said.
The class was locked for an hour, Page said. During that time, some students equipped themselves with just about anything they could find.
“We grabbed the computer, we grabbed the scissors just in case the shooter came in and we had to attack them,” he said. “Some are crying, some are trying to support others. Others are trying to come up with ideas as a precaution.”
Page said the whole experience was “crazy” and he pondered whether he would live through the ordeal.
“The first thing on my mind was, ‘Is this really happening? I’ll text my family, saying I love them just in case, if I die.’ Then, when things calmed down for a second, I was able to catch my breath and rationalize things,” he said.
“It’s definitely going to be weird coming back, especially knowing that everyone was injured and a few students died as well.”
The President and State Officials Respond to the Shooting
“You have to know that whole community has to be in a state of shock right now,” Biden said.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said her department has offered to assist local law enforcement and she extends her “sincere gratitude” to first responders at the scene.
Nessel said: “My heart goes out to the parents who have lost a child and the students, teachers, staff and families who are reeling from the tragedy of a school shooting in their community. “We must act to properly address gun violence in our schools and the ongoing threat of another unscrupulous tragedy if we continue to offer only thoughts and prayers. Our children deserve better.”
CNN’s Allie Malloy, Brian Vitagliano, Laura Ly, Jill Martin and Alex Harring contributed to this report.
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