Law enforcement in the city of Nashville, Tennessee, have said that a 17-year-old suspect fatally shot a female high school student before taking his own life.
Wednesday’s shooting at Antioch High School in the southern United States left two others injured as well.
“I’ve been briefed on the incident at Antioch High School and am grateful for law enforcement and first responders who responded quickly and continue to investigate,” Governor Bill Lee said in a social media post. “As we await more information, I join Tennesseans in praying for the victims, their families and the school community.”
Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) spokesperson Don Aaron said during a news conference that the injured are being treated at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
BREAKING: A shooting incident is under investigation at Antioch High School. Three people have been wounded, including the suspect, who shot himself. Reunification site for parents is 3754 M’boro Pk. Buses will be taking students there. pic.twitter.com/G5UypO7neP
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) January 22, 2025
Parents were told not to come to the school, located about 16 kilometres (10 miles) southeast of downtown Nashville. Instead, they were advised to pick up their loved ones from a nearby medical facility.
Gun violence continues to plague the US, with school shootings a persistent example.
A database maintained by The Washington Post indicates that, as of December, there have been 426 school shootings in the US since 1999, when two teenage gunmen opened fire at Colorado’s Columbine High School.
They killed 15 people, including themselves, in what was the deadliest school shooting up to that point.
Other high-profile school shootings have unfolded in the quarter-century since, including a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut that claimed 26 lives, including 20 children and six staff.
The MNPD said that Wednesday’s attack began at 11:09am (17:09 GMT). The suspect fired multiple shots in the school cafeteria before shooting himself in the head. In addition to the teenage girl killed in the attack, one student was wounded and another was grazed in the arm.
Aaron, the police spokesperson, said that two school resource officers were on site but were in a different part of the building when the shooting began. By the time they reached the area, the shooting was over and the suspected attacker was dead.
In a statement afterwards, President Donald Trump offered condolences to the families and survivors involved.
“The President and his team are monitoring the news out of Nashville,” the statement said. “As details unfold, the White House offers its heartfelt thoughts and prayers to those impacted by this senseless tragedy and thank the brave first responders responding to the incident.”
This is not the first time in recent years that the Nashville area has suffered such a tragedy.
In March 2023, an attacker killed three children, all nine years old, and three adults at a private Christian elementary school called The Covenant School.
In response, the Tennessee legislature passed a bill allowing some teachers and staff to carry concealed weapons on campus at public schools, though critics questioned the efficacy of the measure, in the face of loosened gun restrictions in the state.
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