Michigan Shooting Deadliest on School Property in the U.S. This Year

U.S.|The Michigan shooting was the deadliest connected schoolhouse spot successful the U.S. this year.

• Dec. 1, 2021Updated 12:34 p.m. ET

The rampage connected Tuesday astatine Oxford High School, northbound of Detroit successful Oakland County, was the deadliest shooting connected schoolhouse spot this year, according to Education Week, which tracks specified shootings successful the United States and has reported 28 of them successful 2021.

“It’s devastating,” said Tim Throne, the Oxford Community Schools superintendent, connected Tuesday. The territory canceled classes for the remainder of the week and said grief counseling would beryllium available.

The authorities received the archetypal of much than a 100 911 calls astir the shooting astatine 12:51 p.m. connected Tuesday, Michael McCabe, the Oakland County undersheriff, said. Students rushed for screen and barricaded schoolroom doors with chairs erstwhile they heard the archetypal gunshots, and would aboriginal picture frantically hiding and past fleeing from the schoolhouse aft agelong minutes of terror.

“I was conscionable benignant of sitting determination shaking,” said Dale Schmalenberg, 16, who said helium was successful calculus people erstwhile his teacher heard a gunshot and locked down the classroom. “I didn’t truly cognize however to respond.”

Officials said the gunman fired 15 to 20 shots with a semiautomatic handgun, sidesplitting 4 students and wounding six others and a teacher, earlier being apprehended.

The unit successful Michigan comes aft a simplification successful schoolhouse shootings earlier successful the coronavirus pandemic, erstwhile immoderate schools held classes remotely. But wide shootings astatine schools person been a recurring calamity successful caller years. In 2018, a gunman killed 17 people and injured 17 others astatine Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School successful Parkland, Fla. Later that year, a gunman killed 10 people astatine Santa Fe High School successful Texas.

“This is simply a uniquely American occupation that we request to address,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan said.