'Bullied' pupil in shooting rampage

A teenager described as a bullied outcast at his suburban US high school opened fire in the cafeteria today, killing one student and wounding four others before being caught a short distance away.

A student who witnessed the attack from a few feet away said it appeared the gunman was targeting a group of students sitting at a cafeteria table and the one who was killed was trying to duck under the table.

Panicked students screamed and ran through the halls after gunfire broke out at the start of the school day at 1,100-student Chardon High, about 30 miles from Cleveland.

Teachers locked down their classrooms as they had been trained to do during drills, and students took cover as they waited for the all-clear.

One teacher is said to have dragged a wounded student into his classroom for protection.

The suspect, whose name was not released, was arrested near his car half a mile away, the FBI said.

FBI officials would not comment on a motive, but 15-year-old Danny Komertz, who witnessed the shooting, said the gunman was known as an outcast who had apparently been bullied.

“I looked up and this kid was pointing a gun about 10 feet away from me to a group of four kids sitting at a table,” he said. He added that the gunman fired two shots quickly, and students scrambled for safety. One of them “was kind of like hiding, trying to get underneath the table, trying to hide, protecting his face”.

A Cleveland hospital identified the killed student as Daniel Parmertor, an aspiring computer repairer who was shot while waiting for the bus for his daily 15-minute ride to a vocational centre.

“We are shocked by this senseless tragedy,” his family said in a statement. “Danny was a bright young boy who had a bright future ahead of him.”

His teacher at Auburn Career School had no idea why Daniel – “a very good young man, very quiet” – had been targeted, said Auburn superintendent Maggie Lynch.

At least one other victim was reported in critical condition.

Parents thronged the streets around the school as they heard from students via text message and mobile phone long before official word came of the attack.

By midday, officers investigating the shooting blocked off a road in a heavily wooded area several miles from the school. Federal agents patrolled the muddy driveway leading to several spacious homes and ponds, while other officers walked a snowy hillside.

Teacher Joe Ricci had just begun class when he heard shots and slammed the door to his classroom, yelling, “Lock down!” to students, according to Karli Sensibello, a student whose sister was in Mr Ricci’s classroom.

A few minutes later, Mr Ricci heard a student moaning outside, opened the door and pulled in student Nick Walczak who had been shot several times, Karli said in an email. Mr Ricci comforted Nick and let him use his phone to call his girlfriend and parents, Karli said.

Three of the wounded boys were also students at Auburn Career School, the superintendent said.

Heather Ziska, 17, said she was in the cafeteria when she and other students heard popping noises in the hall. She said she saw a boy she recognised as a fellow student come into the cafeteria and start shooting.

She said she and several others immediately ran outside, while other friends ran into a middle school and others locked themselves in a teachers’ lounge.