At least 2 dead and 8 injured after a school shooting in Saint Louis 2:48
(CNN) --
The AR-15 rifle used during the deadly St. Louis school shooting had been removed from the shooter during an interaction with police about a week before the attack, and it's unclear how he recovered it, the report says. policeman.
The shooter, 19-year-old Orlando Harris, opened fire Monday, killing 15-year-old student Alexandria Bell and 61-year-old teacher Jean Kuczka, and wounding several others at Central High School for the Visual and Performing Arts. .
Harris later died at a hospital after a confrontation with school officers.
St. Louis school shooter had an AR-15 rifle, 600 rounds of ammunition and a note that read "I have no friends. I have no family," according to police
Prior to the shooting, his family had contacted St. Louis police to have a firearm seized from him, St. Louis Police Commissioner Michael Sack said at a news conference Wednesday.
"The mother at the time wanted him out of the house," he added.
Police responded to a domestic disturbance at the family's home on Oct. 15, just nine days before Monday's shooting, according to a police statement late Wednesday.
"Officers responded and determined at that time that the suspect was legally permitted to possess the firearm," read the statement obtained by CNN affiliate KMOV.
“A third party known to the family was contacted and took possession of the firearm so that it would no longer be kept in the home.”
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Police confirmed Wednesday night that the weapon removed from the home that day was the rifle used during the school shooting.
"How he got it after that ... we don't know," Sack said.
"We're looking into that."
The firearm has a serial number and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is working to trace it, Sack said.
The teen's family had been worried about him.
In addition to trying to get the firearm taken from him, they also committed him to a mental health facility, searched his room, tracked what he received in the mail and tried to make sure he related to people and felt loved, Sack said. .
"They made every effort that they felt they could reasonably make," Sack said.
"I think that's why the mother is so heartbroken for the families who paid for this episode."
The attacker, who graduated from the same school last year, "broke into the school" with the rifle and a large amount of ammunition, some of it strapped to his chest, Sack said.
The shooting left the building riddled with bullets and turned an ordinary Monday at the school into one in which frightened students and teachers locked their doors, crowded into corners and jumped out of windows for their lives as the sound of gunshots rang out. in the halls.
After the attack, FBI investigators found a letter and notebook in the car Harris used to get to school.
“The school was the target,” Sack said.
“There was a disconnect between him and what he felt was the other school community.
He felt isolated and alone.”
This image provided by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department shows an AR-15-style rifle they say was used by the 19-year-old gunman.
Locked doors bought officers time, police say
There were seven security personnel at the school when the attacker arrived, but he did not enter through a checkpoint where security guards were stationed, said DeAndre Davis, director of security for St. Louis Public Schools.
"He had to break in and that's good for us because it buys us time," Sack said Wednesday.
Officers were at the schools four minutes after the active shooter was reported, and they confronted the gunman eight minutes later, according to Sack.
The police commissioner has repeatedly credited quick police response, locked doors and prior training with preventing further deaths.
Authorities also thanked the students for following their teachers' instructions and closing their doors after they were alerted to the threat on campus.
"We've had teenagers and athletes, they don't always listen, but on Monday they did," Sack said.
“They did what their teachers told them to do, they did what the officers told them to do, even though you can see a lot of them were traumatized.
You can see their faces, you can read their eyes."
Police investigate the scene of a shooting at Central High School for the Visual and Performing Arts on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022, in St. Louis.
horror on campus
Students and teachers scrambled to close and lock classroom doors after hearing a coded message broadcast over the intercom.
The attacker managed to reach Jean Kuczka's health classroom, where she and her students were gathered.
Student Keyshawn Brooks told CNN affiliate KSDK that he saw the attacker force his way into his classroom and shoot his teacher.
"They had kicked down the door to our classroom and a man opened the door and said, 'You're all going to die today,'" Brooks said.
“He shot the teacher first.
She fell to the ground.
Another child was shot in the hand and was bleeding.
Two other girls were shot,” Brooks said.
"When she left the room, we opened the window and jumped out."
Student Alex Macias described looking the gunman in the eye after Kuczka was shot.
“He shot Mrs. Kuczka and I just closed my eyes,” she said.
“I really didn't want to see anything else.
But then when I thought he was leaving, I opened my eyes to see him standing there making eye contact with me.
And then after making eye contact, he just walked away.”
Students then began jumping out of the window, he said.
Teacher Kristie Faulstich said Kuczka was killed standing between the attacker and the students.
She described her former colleague as a popular teacher who was loved by many.
Authorities are investigating how to make it more difficult to enter classrooms, the police commissioner said.
As the investigation continues and students and teachers mourn Kuczka and Bell, it will be two months before they are allowed back on campus, school officials said.
CNN's Alex Medeiros and Chris Boyette contributed to this report.
