Florida school shooting: 1 dead, at least 20 injured, shooter still at large

Deputies in Broward County, Florida, are responding to reports of an active shooter at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Photo: CNN/Twitter

Fort Lauderdale, Florida: A person opened fire at a Florida high school on Wednesday afternoon, injuring multiple people and sending hundreds of students fleeing into streets as law enforcement officers searched for a shooter who remained at large.

Shortly before students were to be dismissed for the day, the sound of gunfire ripped through the air, school officials Broward County school officials said on Twitter, adding that multiple people had been injured in the incident.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, about 72 km north of Miami, had been placed on a “code red” lockdown but had no information on how many people had been injured, a spokeswoman for the county sheriff’s office said. The sheriff’s office said on Twitter that the shooter was still at large.

School officials and police asked parents who were in touch with their children to tell them to remain hidden in classrooms while police searched for the shooter.

“Police are working an active shooter scene, and ask that if you are in touch with your student you ask that they remain calm and barricaded until police come to their room, this is for everyone’s safety,” Coral Springs police said on Twitter.

Panicked parents checked on their children.

“My daughter, as of right now, she’s still trapped in a closet. She’s afraid to speak,” a man who identified himself as Caesar Figueroa and said his daughter was inside the school, told CBS News. “I told her, ‘Don’t call me, because I don’t want no one to hear your voice.’ So, she’s still trapped in a closet in there.”

The Miami Herald quoted a local fire chief as saying that at least one person had been killed in the attack. Florida’s WSVN-TV reported 20 people may have been injured. Reuters was not able to immediately confirm those reports.

Live television showed dozens of students, weaving their way between law enforcement officers with heavy weapons and helmets, and large numbers of emergency vehicles including police cars, ambulances and fire trucks.

Local FOX-10 TV reported that five people were seen being treated by paramedics.

Florida Governor Rick Scott said on Twitter that had he had been in touch with local officials about the incident. Reuters

Dan Whitcomb and Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles contributed to this story.