Maryland High School Shooter Shot Himself in the Head, Authorities Say

In new details from last week's Great Mills High School shooting in Maryland, the suspected shooter who left one student dead and another student injured shot himself in the head during the incident.

Suspect Austin Rollins' fatal self-inflicted shot to the head came in the same instant the school's resource officer, Deputy Blaine Gaskill, fired one nonfatal shot that struck Rollins' hand, according to St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office.

Rollins has since died from his injuries after allegedly shooting two other students, one of whom later died from her injuries. The other student, Desmond Barnes, survived being shot in the leg.

Prior to the investigation, authorities had been unsure whether the officer or the suspect fired the fatal shot. It was previously reported that the two had exchanged gunfire.

Authorities released 911 calls from the incident in which Barnes, 14, told a dispatcher, "I've just been shot." Another call is from a teacher, who says she saw a girl get shot in the hallway, a classmate later identified as 16-year-old Jaelynn Willey, who died late Thursday night after her family removed her from life support.

Police put together a timeline showing how the shooting unfolded. Rollins allegedly shot Willey and Barnes in a school hallway just before classes began last Tuesday, police said. Both were transported to a hospital with Willey in critical condition.

Authorities later discovered that Willey and Rollins had a prior relationship, which, they said, recently ended.

The investigation is ongoing.

Before Willey died, her mother, Melisa Willey, told reporters that the 16-year-old had "no life left in her," according to The Baltimore Sun.

"My daughter was hurt by a boy who shot her in the head and took everything from our lives," Melissa said. "It will be different forever."

Willey was left brain dead after Rollins shot her in the head. She died at about 11:30 p.m. Thursday, the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office said.

"It is with heavy hearts and great sadness we provide this update," the sheriff's office said in a statement.

St. Mary's County Sheriff Tim Cameron praised Gaskill's response time during the incident.

"He responded exactly as we train our personnel to respond," the sheriff said. "This is what we train for, this is what we prepare for, and this is what we pray that we never have to do. On this day, we realized our worst nightmare."

"The notion of 'it can't happen here' is no longer a notion," Cameron reportedly added.