2 hurt, shooter dead at Maryland high school

A student armed with a handgun wounded two classmates at a Maryland high school on Tuesday, officials said, in an outburst of campus violence just days before a student-organized nationwide march for gun control, reports AFP from Great Mills, US. The shooter, who was not identified, has died following the incident at Great Mills High School, St. Mary's County Sheriff Tim Cameron told reporters.

Cameron said the "school resource officer" responsible for security engaged the shooter after hearing gunfire at around 7:45 am (1145 GMT), shortly before classes were due to begin for the day. "A male student produced a handgun and fired... wounding a female student and another male student in a hallway," Cameron said. The female student was in critical condition while the male student was in stable condition, he said. "When the shooting took place, our school resource officer, who was stationed inside the school, was alerted to the event and the shots being fired," he said.

"He pursued the shooter, engaged the shooter -- during that engagement, he fired a round at the shooter," Cameron said. "Simultaneously the shooter fired a round as well."

"In the hours to come, in the days to come, through detailed investigation, we will be able to determine if our school resource officer's round struck the shooter," the sheriff said, suggesting the assailant may have instead taken his own life. Following the shooting in Great Mills, located about a 90-minute drive southeast of the US capital Washington, students were evacuated to a nearby school where they were reunited with their parents, Cameron said. "It happened really quickly, right after school started," Jonathan Freese, a Great Mills student, told CNN. "The police came and responded really quickly," Freese said. "They had a lot of officers respond."

2 hurt, shooter dead at Maryland high school

A student armed with a handgun wounded two classmates at a Maryland high school on Tuesday, officials said, in an outburst of campus violence just days before a student-organized nationwide march for gun control, reports AFP from Great Mills, US. The shooter, who was not identified, has died following the incident at Great Mills High School, St. Marys County Sheriff Tim Cameron told reporters. Cameron said the school resource officer responsible for security engaged the shooter after hearing gunfire at around 7:45 am (1145 GMT), shortly before classes were due to begin for the day. A male student produced a handgun and fired... wounding a female student and another male student in a hallway, Cameron said. The female student was in critical condition while the male student was in stable condition, he said. When the shooting took place, our school resource officer, who was stationed inside the school, was alerted to the event and the shots being fired, he said. He pursued the shooter, engaged the shooter -- during that engagement, he fired a round at the shooter, Cameron said. Simultaneously the shooter fired a round as well. In the hours to come, in the days to come, through detailed investigation, we will be able to determine if our school resource officers round struck the shooter, the sheriff said, suggesting the assailant may have instead taken his own life. Following the shooting in Great Mills, located about a 90-minute drive southeast of the US capital Washington, students were evacuated to a nearby school where they were reunited with their parents, Cameron said. It happened really quickly, right after school started, Jonathan Freese, a Great Mills student, told CNN. The police came and responded really quickly, Freese said. They had a lot of officers respond.