Shooting Reported at Maryland High School

Officials reported a shooting at a Maryland high school on Tuesday morning, the Associated Press reports.

The St. Mary’s County Public Schools confirmed on social media that there was a shooting at Great Mills High School, located in the southern end of the state. School leaders said that the “event is contained” and the campus is on lockdown.

There was no immediate information about any possible injuries or deaths.

Federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were also responding to the scene, the agency wrote on Twitter.

Jonathan Freese, a student at Great Mills, told CNN he was in lockdown in his math class. Police are going through classrooms to clear the school, and students will then be escorted out of the school, Freese said.

“I’m still a little shaken up,” he said. Freese said gunshots were fired in the art hallway of the building, and police responded “really quickly” following the event.

The county sheriff said deputies are on the scene, and that parents or guardians should stay away. Parents have been instructed to wait at nearby Leonardtown High School to reunite with Great Mills students once they are cleared to leave the campus.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Rep. Steny Hoyer tweeted that they are monitoring reports and urged people to follow the instructions of local law enforcement at the scene.

Hogan offered prayers for “students, school personnel and first responders” and Hoyer expressed prayers for “students, parents and teachers” involved in the incident.

The reported shooting comes after the high school received threats of violence in February, when a Snapchat post warned students of a possible shooting planned “within the next few days,” the BayNet reports.

Following the threats, Great Mills principal Dr. Jake Heibel sent a message to parents and guardians.

“Law enforcement was contacted and an investigation was conducted, which included interviews with students and parents to determine the validity of the potential threat. The threat to Great Mills High School has not been validated at this time. However, we will have additional security today and we will continue to investigate the source of the postings,” he said.

The school also held a school safety discussion following the threat last month.