Boy, 15, kills student in high school gun rampage

A 15-year-old boy opened fire at his high school, killing one pupil and critically wounding a second before a teacher apparently talked him into dropping the gun.

The youth was taken into custody after the shooting yesterday at Rocori High School in Cold Spring, Minnesota, about 60 miles north west of the Minneapolis-St Paul area.

Police said the boy, who was not identified, was co-operating with authorities, but the motive was not immediately known.

Police Chief Phil Jones said “there was chaos” as police arrived at the school. One of the students was shot while in the weights room and the other shooting occurred in the gym.

Aaron Rollins, a senior, died in hospital after being shot in the face and neck. Seth Bartell, a freshman, was in a critical condition with gunshot wounds to the chest and head.

Officials evacuated the school and sent all students home. Education department spokesman Doug Gray said it appeared to be Minnesota’s first fatal shooting carried out by a student inside a school.

“There was kids crying,” Jamie Toddingham, a junior, told KSTP-TV. “We were sitting at a window where we could see cops everywhere. I was just thinking about, it could’ve been me.”

“We all thought it was a drill or something, but when the principal went on the intercom, his voice was shaky,” said senior Nicole Vogt.

Jones said that it appeared a well-respected, veteran teacher and coach talked the boy into handing over the small-calibre handgun. When police arrived, the boy was in the custody of the school’s staff in an administrative office, he said.

Stearns County Sheriff John Sanner said the shooting had stunned people in Cold Spring, a close-knit community of about 3,000 people.

“When something of this magnitude happens, it actually shakes the foundation of everybody that lives here,” he said. “This is very tragic, very sad – and we’re all trying to understand why.”

The high school has about 800 students.