St. Louis metropolitan police officers stand outside an entrance at the northeast corner of the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School after a shooting that left three people dead including the shooter in St Louis, Missouri on October 24, 2022. - Two people were killed on Monday and several were injured by a gunman who opened fire at a high school in the midwestern US city of St. Louis, police said. (Photo by TIM VIZER / AFP) (Photo by TIM VIZER/AFP via Getty Images)
On Monday, a shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis left three people dead, including the suspect that was reportedly responsible for the shooting.
Now more details about the victims and the suspect have been released.
According to NBC News, during a press conference on Tuesday, police announced that the shooting suspect was identified as 19-year-old Orlando Harris. It was shared that he was armed with an AR-15-style rifle and over 600 rounds of ammunition. There was also a note left behind that spoke about mass shootings.
St. Louis Police Chief Mike Sack said,
“He had seven magazines of ammunition on a chest rig that he wore, he also had an additional eight magazines of ammunition in a field bag that he had carried. This doesn’t include the number of magazines that he left and dumped on the stairway in the corridors along the way.”
Sack continued to share that the incident could have been worse if officers didn’t arrive at the scene at the time that they did. It’s still not clear how Harris got the weapon in his possession. However, it was shared that he left a handwritten note in the car that he had driven to the school.
During the press conference, some of the note was read. Sack said,
“So, in reading this, we could see some of what’s going on inside his mind. He feels isolated, he feels alone, quite possibly angry and resentful of others who have what appeared to him to be healthy relationships and so desired to lash out.”
Sack also encouraged people to check up on others saying, “If you’re aware of an individual who appears to be suffering from some kind of mental illness or distress, and they begin speaking about purchasing firearms or causing harm to others, we encourage you to reach out to somebody and report that so that we can get help to that individual.”
The victims of the shooting were identified as 61-year-old health teacher Jean Kuczka, and 15-year-old sophomore, Alexzandria Bell.
As previously reported, shortly after the shooting, Sack spoke with reporters and shared that there was a victim that was pronounced deceased at a local hospital, and a victim that was announced deceased at the scene.
TSR STAFF: Jade Ashley @Jade_Ashley94
