Student killed in shooting at Spokane-area high school

A shooting was reported at Freeman High School in Rockford, Wash., about 20 miles south of Spokane. The school has an enrollment of around 300 students. Photo courtesy of Freeman School District

Sept. 13 (UPI) — A student was killed Wednesday in a shooting at a high school south of Spokane, Wash., as five others were injured.

A suspect has been detained.

Police responded to the shooting around 10:30 a.m. at Freeman High School in Rockford, 20 miles south of Spokane, the The Spokesman-Review reported.

Spokane Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer said the suspect was in custody after “the threat from the shooter has been eliminated,” according to a KREM-TV report.

Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane confirmed three children were transported in stable condition after the shooting.

At least five ambulances and a LifeFlight helicopter were called to the scene.

Cheryl Moser told The Spokesman-Review she received a call from her son in a classroom and said he heard shots.

“He called me and said, ‘Mom there are gunshots.’ He sounded so scared. I’ve never heard him like that,” Moser said. “You never think about something happening like this at a small school.”

Annie Baxter, whose two daughters attend the nearby middle school, told The Spokesman-Review children were running into buildings and an alarm was sounding.

“They did a modified lockdown drill yesterday,” she said. “I thought it was weird because they wouldn’t do [a drill] two days in a row.”

On Wednesday, the high school had a two-hour late start at 10:15 a.m. for teachers’ professional development.

The high school, the only one in the district, has an enrollment of 327 students, according to U.S. News.

Spokane Public Schools, which are not part of the Freeman schools, posted online all of its schools were briefly on lockdown.

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