The shooting reportedly
happened in the school
cafeteria around 10:45 a.m.
Police say the student
removed from concealment a
weapon he brought into the school. Police and students
have also told Eyewitness News teachers tackled the suspect as he fired the first
shot. “As the individual began to
pull back from that shooting
several inches, an instructor
grabbed him, grappled with
him and a second shot was
discharged,” said Chief Jim Johnson, Baltimore County
Police.
A school resource officer was
able to quickly subdue the
teen. Police found the weapon
he used but would not say
what it was. “I saw the kid shooting then
the teacher tackled him and
the first row started running,
then the second run, then
everyone was running,” said
Gerald Roman, 11th grader. Baltimore County
Executive, Police Chief,
Schools Chief Hold News
Conference: One student told WJZ’s Hellgren it was his first day of
public school and he saw the
shooting. He says there was a
lot of blood and saw the
student shot in the back.
There are estimates there were about 200 students in
the cafeteria at the time of the
shooting. Others told WJZ they heard a scuffle before the shooting.
After the shooting, the school
was put on lockdown for
several hours. “It sounded like a fight
against the locker with all the
banging. I heard screaming
and the teachers told
everybody to stay calm… it
was crazy,” said Justin Spencer, tenth-grader. “When
all the teachers started
running to the classrooms and
locking the doors, and then on
the speaker we heard the
teachers saying ‘Lockdown. Lockdown. This is not a drill.
We need everyone to stay in
the classrooms.’”
Student Witness:
“I heard two large bangs and
I saw people running and it
was chaos and everybody ran
outside, and the principal told
us to stay in the grass area
and away from the cafeteria,” said a student witness. A young man without a shirt
was seen by Sky Eye Chopper 13 being escorted to a police cruiser in handcuffs.
It’s not clear if he is the
accused shooter or even
related to the shooting. Parents are telling Eyewitness News and
WJZ.COM there may have been a threat on Facebook referencing the school, but
there are no confirmed
reports of that. The message
reportedly said, “First Day of
School, Last Day of Life.” There are also reports this shooting may have stemmed
from a bullying incident. Governor Martin O’Malley
released the following
statement: “Today, on this first day of
school for many students in
our State, we’ve suffered a
senseless act of violence. I’d
like to thank the teachers and
administrators for their courageous and life-saving
actions. At this time, our
thoughts and prayers are
with the injured student and
his family. “I’ve spoken with County
Executive Kamenetz, and we
will continue to support all of
our local partners in Baltimore
County. It takes all of us
working together to make our schools safer for our
children.” Calls started coming in
Monday shortly before 11 a.m.
Fire crews and police cars
remain on the scene. Parents told WJZ they were getting calls and texts from
their children when they
were in lockdown. Students
were dismissed classroom by
classroom. “This is the first time it’s
happened at Perry Hall. We
don’t have this happen out
here. It happened during
lunch, but not my child’s
lunch. I’m just glad he’s OK,” said a parent.
