Patrick Mcmahon
In a press conference, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin confirmed an updated injury and fatality count for the morning’s school shooting at Marshall High School in Benton.
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The shooting — the second school shooting of the week in the United States — claimed the lives of a 15-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl, both students at the high school.
WATCH LIVE: Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, other officials give an update on the deadly high school shooting https://t.co/RUc1I9WBbs pic.twitter.com/3Clzxg0a0m
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 23, 2018
RELATED: There’s been another school shooting, this time in Kentucky — here’s what we know
Twelve others were shot and wounded. Five additional students weren’t hit by gunfire but suffered injuries in the shooting.
"At this time, there are 19 individuals who are being treated or have been treated for injuries. 14 of those are gunshot wounds," Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin says https://t.co/RUc1I9WBbs pic.twitter.com/DEfmDxxu66
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 23, 2018
Gov. Bevin added that the suspect in custody is a 15-year-old student at Marshall High School. The unnamed shooter will be charged with murder and attempted murder, among other charges. At this time, his motive is unclear.
Bevin applauded police and emergency authorities, saying their quick actions saved lives and prevented the second school shooting of the week from being even worse.
“[They] ensured that this was not a more painful incident than what has occurred,” he said. Kentucky State Police Commissioner Richard W. Sanders added that his office had recently instructed students and faculty in the area on responding to a mass shooting. He said staff and students “reacted appropriately” to the shooting.
A bystander told the Associated Press that teenagers fled the school “running and crying and screaming … just kids running down the highway.”
"I beg of you again to respect the fact that these children belong to this community and to specific families in this community, and this is a wound that is going to take a long time to heal," Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin says https://t.co/RUc1I9WBbs pic.twitter.com/MHOiEZRyMW
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 23, 2018
Gov. Bevin added a plea to respect the community as it mourns and picks up the pieces: “I beg of you again to respect the fact that these children belong to this community and to specific families in this community, and this is a wound that is going to take a long time to heal.”
The shooting comes a day after a 15-year-old student opened fire on a 16-year-old in a Texas high school cafeteria yesterday morning, wounding her.
