Authorities responded to a shooting at a high school in southern Florida on Wednesday afternoon, the Broward Sheriff’s Office confirmed on social media.
Broward County Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie said there were numerous fatalities following the incident at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, WSVN reports.
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The Broward Sheriff’s Office confirmed 14 victims and said the shooter, identified by law enforcement sources as Nicolas de Jesus Cruz the Miami Herald reports, was in custody.
“It’s catastrophic. There really are no words.” – Sheriff Israel
— Broward Sheriff (@browardsheriff) February 14, 2018
The shooter was described to WSVN as wearing a black hat, a maroon or burgundy shirt and black pants. He was last seen on the west side of a three story building on campus.
The father of a student at the high school said the suspect pulled a fire alarm and opened fire as students left their classrooms and went into the hallway, WKBN reports.
“We all thought it was a fire drill because we had one previously today,” he said. “And we thought it was, so no one was that nervous, but then word started going around that it was shots and not just, like, something else, everyone just started running towards the canal.”
Nicole Baltzer, 18, said she was in trigonometry class about 10 minutes before the end of the school day when the fire alarm went off. As students evacuated, she heard six gunshots and everyone started running back inside the school, Baltzer told CNN.
“I heard so many gunshots, at least like six. They were very close,” she said.
Aerial footage from WSVN showed a number of people lying on the ground outside the school, being treated for injuries and moved to ambulances.
Some students were seen sprinting out of the building with their backpacks as authorities with guns drawn swarmed the school. Others were seen moments later exiting the school building one by one, leaving the area in an orderly fashion.
Dozens of law enforcement vehicles responded, including one tank and a team of heavily armed law enforcement officers.
The incident was the fourth shooting at a middle or high school in 2018, CNN reports.
This story is developing … check back for updates.
Photo Credit: Twitter / @Breaking911
