10 dead after shooter opens fire at Texas high school

Ten people have been killed and as many wounded in Texas Friday after a shooter opened fire at Santa Fe High School near Houston.

A 17-year-old male suspect is in custody and a person of interest has been detained after nine students and one teacher were shot to death, officials said. One officer was confirmed to be among the injured.

Law enforcement officials identified the suspect as Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a Santa Fe High School student who reportedly plays on the junior varsity football team.

The local school district said that explosive devices had also been found on campus, though no explosions were reported.

#UPDATE Possible explosive devices have been located at the school and off campus. Law enforcement is in the process of rendering them safe. School has been evacuated. Call 911 if you see any suspicious item. #HouNews #SantaFeISD

— Santa Fe ISD (@SantaFeISD) May 18, 2018

“There have been confirmed reports of explosives found on the campus and off the campus,” said Santa Fe Police Chief Jeff Powell, according to USA Today. “That’s our main concern is to keep our community safe.”

Bomb technicians were reportedly investigating a home in Galveston County, approximately four miles away from the high school.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said at a press conference that “one male is in custody. And then a second one, again, was a person of interest. Both are believed to be students here at the school.”

Houston-area media reported the school went on lockdown around 7:45 a.m. after someone entered the campus carrying what appeared to be a shotgun and opened fire, a student told ABC13. {mosads}

Friday’s massacre is the deadliest school shooting since February’s in Parkland, Fla., which left 17 dead. Survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting were among those who reacted with horror and anger after the Texas attack.

Shaken Sante Fe High School students told a local NBC affiliate they heard several shots ring out after a fire alarm went off just before 8 a.m.

“Nobody knew what to do,” student Dakota Shrader said through tears. “There was nothing we could do but run.”

Students reported that the shooting occurred in an art class.

“I shouldn’t be going through this. It’s my school, this is my daily life,” an unnamed student told ABC News outside the school, crying. “I shouldn’t have to feel like that, and I feel scared to even go back.”

“Please keep the officers in your prayers as one officer is being life flighted to the hospital,” an official with the Houston Police Officers Union tweeted.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office tweeted shortly after the first reports broke that they were assisting “with a multiple-casualty incident” at the school.

“This is no longer an active shooting situation and the injured are being treated,” the tweet said. 

President Trump expressed his concern over the incident on Twitter, saying preliminary reports were “not looking good.”

School shooting in Texas. Early reports not looking good. God bless all!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 18, 2018

“We grieve for the terrible loss of life,” Trump later said at the White House at a previously scheduled event.

“May God heal the injured and may God comfort the wounded,” he added.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said in a statement released after the shooting that the task of keeping U.S. students safe “remains urgent.”

“Our schools must be safe and nurturing environments for learning,” she said. “No student should have to experience the trauma suffered by so many today and in similar events prior. We simply cannot allow this trend to continue.”

—Updated at 3:25 p.m.