People are evacuated from Chardon High School in Chardon, Ohio, about 30 miles east of Cleveland, after a number of students were shot there at the beginning of the school day. (AP)
CHARDON, Ohio — An Ohio teen described as an “outcast” is suspected of opening fire on his high school classmates Monday, leaving two dead and three injured before being apprehended near the suburban Cleveland campus.
The alleged shooter was identified by the Cleveland Plain Dealer as Chardon High School student T.J. Lane.
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Authorities have not released the suspected gunman’s name because he is a juvenile and has not yet been charged, Chardon Police Chief Tim McKenna said.
Law enforcement officials described Lane as a “victim of bullying” and an “outcast,” WKYC-TV reported.
The gunman opened fire around 7:30am Monday in the school cafeteria. Terrified students and teachers barricaded themselves inside classrooms and the school was placed on immediate lockdown.
Nate Mueller, a Chardon junior who was in the cafeteria when the shots were fired, told the Plain Dealer that he saw Lane shooting.
“My friends were crawling on the floor, and one of my friends was bent over the table, and he was shot,” Mueller told the paper. “It was almost like a firecracker went off. I turned around and saw [T.J.] standing with a gun and I saw him take a shot.”
Two teachers reportedly chased the gunman out of the building, which is located about 30 miles outside of Cleveland. The gunman was reportedly apprehended by police about one mile from campus shortly after he fled.
Victims were found in three different locations inside the school, WKYC-TV reported, suggesting the shooter may have targeted and pursued specific people.
Authorities identified the deceased student as 16-year-old Chardon junior Daniel Parmentor.
In a statement, Parmentor’s family called his death a “senseless tragedy.”
“Danny was a bright young boy who had a bright future ahead of him. The family is torn by this loss,” the statement read.
A second student died following a shooting rampage at an Ohio school Monday, WOIO-TV reported, citing a source close to the investigation.
Tuesday classes throughout the entire Chardon district have been canceled, as residents of the town of about 5,100 grapple with the news.
Jeannette Roth said her son Joshua, a student at the school, told her the shooting happened while students were eating breakfast in the cafeteria. Suddenly a boy “stood up and started shooting, and then it was chaos,” Roth told the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Four ambulances and a medical helicopter arrived at the school shortly after 8:00am local time, according to the Plain Dealer. Sources said three of the students were flown to the trauma center at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland.
Two of the male victims are in critical condition, another male is in serious condition and one female is in stable condition, McKenna confirmed Monday afternoon.
Students from a nearby middle school were also evacuated and all classes in the district canceled, Chardon Local School coordinator Ellen Ondrey said.
In a statement issued later in the morning, Ohio Gov. John Kasich pledged the state’s support to local authorities.
“Please join me in praying for the students who’ve been injured in this horrible crime,” Kasich said. “Praise goes to the Chardon Police and Geauga County Sheriff’s office for quickly getting this situation under control. I’ve pledged Ohio’s full support to them, the school and the local community in this difficult time.”