UPDATE: 8:25 a.m., March 20, 2018
A shooting at a Maryland high school Tuesday wounded three people, including the shooter, a sheriff's spokeswoman said.
Authorities said the situation was "contained" as deputies and federal agents converged on the crime scene.
St. Mary's County Sheriff spokeswoman Cpl. Julie Yingling said three people hurt, including the shooter. She didn't know the extent of their injuries, but said all three were taken to hospitals and none were killed.
Students are being evacuated from GMHS and being bused to the reunification center at the Leonardtown HS campus. The building is orderly and the Sheriff’s Office is conducting an investigation. We will continue to update as more information becomes available.
— SMCPS_MD (@SMCPS_MD) March 20, 2018
The Baltimore Sun reported that a student said the shooting happened around 8 a.m. Terrence Rhames, 18, told the Sun that he heard a gunshot and saw a girl fall as he ran for an exit. "I just thank God I'm safe," Rhames said. "I just want to know who did it and who got injured."
This latest shooting comes as lawmakers nationwide are under pressure to take action against gun violence following the Valentine's Day killings of 17 people at a Florida high school by a teenager with an assault weapon. Maryland's Senate joined the House Monday night to ban bump stocks, which enable a semi-automatic rifle to mimic a fully automatic weapon.
Outside the school, a line of about 20 school buses formed on the street in front of the building. Ambulances, fire trucks and other emergency vehicles crowded the parking lot and the street. No students or parents could be seen outside at midmorning.
The St. Mary's County Public Schools said the situation was "contained" after the shooting at Great Mills High School, which has about 1,600 students and is near the Patuxent River Naval Air Station, about 65 miles (104 kilometers) southeast of Washington.
Agents with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives joined deputies at the scene. The county sheriff said parents or guardians should stay away, urging them to go instead to Leonardtown High School to reunite with Great Mills students there.
Many students across the country are calling for effective gun controls, leading up to Saturday's March For Our Lives rally in the nation's capital against gun violence in schools. Threats against schools have proliferated as well, and Great Mills High has not been immune.
Just last month, the school's principal, Jake Heibel, told parents in a letter posted on the local news site The Bay Net that two students were interviewed after they were overheard mentioning a school shooting, and they were found to pose no threat. Heibel said the school increased its security nevertheless after social media posts about a possible school shooting "circulated quite extensively."
Also last month, St. Mary's County Sheriff's office said it arrested two teenage boys for "Threats of Mass Violence" and a 39-year-old man on related charges after the teens made threats about a potential school shooting at Leonardtown High School, a high school about 10 miles from Great Mills. Police said they obtained a search warrant that led to them finding semi-automatic rifles, handguns and other weapons, along with ammunition.
This is a developing story. It will be updated as more information becomes available.
