Police: Male student behind Indiana middle school shooting

  • Two victims were taken to a hospital in Indiana after a shooting at a suburban Indianapolis middle school.
  • Authorities said the lone suspect was a male student at the school and was taken into custody.
Ambulances leaving Noblesville West Middle school.
WTHR.com
Ambulances leaving Noblesville West Middle school.

A male student opened fire at a suburban Indianapolis middle school Friday morning, wounding another student and a teacher before being taken into custody, authorities said.

The attack at Noblesville West Middle School happened around 9 a.m. local time, police Chief Kevin Jowitt said at a news conference. He said investigators believe the suspect acted alone, though he didn't release the boy's name or the names of the victims, who were taken to hospitals in Indianapolis.

Indiana University Health spokeswoman Danielle Sirilla said the teacher was taken to IU Health Methodist Hospital and the wounded student was taken to Riley Hospital for Children. She didn't know the seriousness of their injuries.

After the attack, students were bused to the Noblesville High School gym, where their families could retrieve them.

Erica Higgins, who was among the worried parents who rushed to get their kids, told WTHR-TV that she learned of the shooting from a relative who called her at home.

Noblesville West Middle School in Nobesville, Indiana.
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Noblesville West Middle School in Nobesville, Indiana.

"I just want to get my arms around my boy," she said.

Higgins said her son was shaken up but knew little about what happened.

"I got a 'Mom, I'm scared' text message and other than that, it was 'come get me at the high school,'" Higgins said.

Gov. Eric Holcomb, who was returning from a trip to Europe on Friday, issued a statement saying he and other state leaders were getting updates about the situation and that 100 state police officers had been made available to work with local law enforcement.

"Our thoughts are with all those affected by this horrible situation," Holcomb said.

Noblesville, which is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of Indianapolis, is home to about 50,000 people. The middle school has about 1,300 students from grades 6-8. The school's academic year was scheduled to end next Friday.

The attack comes a week after an attack at a high school in Santa Fe, Texas, that killed eight students and two teachers, and months after the school attack that killed 17 people in Parkland, Florida. The Florida attack inspired students from that school and others throughout the country to call for more restrictions on access to guns.

Indiana's Senate Democrats issued a statement in response to Friday's school shooting expressing their condolences to the victims and calling for steps to prevent such shootings, including restrictions on guns.