BENTON, Kentucky — Authorities say at least five people were shot Tuesday morning at a southwestern Kentucky High School. According to officials with Marshall County Emergency Management, the suspect in the incident at Marshall County High School in Benton, Kentucky, has been arrested.
Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin tweeted soon after the incident that at least one of the victims died because of the shooting but said there is “much yet unknown” as first responders continue to operate at the school. Kentucky State Police have confirmed one dead.
Kentucky Rep. James Comer told that the shooter in custody is a student.
Authorities say seven people have been taken to hospitals. Darlene Lynn of Marshall County Emergency Management tells that some of the wounded were flown by helicopter for medical treatment. Four patients were transported by medical helicopter to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Life Flight spokesperson Jerry Jones told. Their ages and extent of their injuries were unknown.
Nearly 100 children ran out of Marshall County High School seeking safety, said Mitchell Garland, who rushed outside of his business when he heard about the shooting.
A half-dozen ambulances and numerous police cars converged on the school. Officers in black fatigues carrying assault rifles showed up as well. Federal authorities also responded, and Gov. Matt Bevin ran out of the Capitol to rush to the school. Parents left their cars on both sides of an adjacent road, desperately trying to find their children.
Kentucky State Police Detective Jody Cash said during a phone interview that the “situation is secure and is no longer active.” Authorities have no reason to think there are any other suspects.
A Marshall County deputy arrested the shooter, according to state police. The FBI is en route to the scene.
The Marshall County Tribune-Courier reports students were being bused late Tuesday morning to nearby North Marshall Middle School, where parents could pick them up.
A Marshall County Schools staffer reached by phone told the school’s superintendent is expected to release a statement shortly.
“This is a tremendous tragedy and speaks to the heartbreak present in our communities,” Bevin said in a statement released on Twitter.
Marshall County High School is about 30 minutes from Heath High School in Paducah, Kentucky, where a 1997 mass shooting killed three and injured five.
