Gunman at Maryland high school dies after armed school officer intervenes; 2 others injured

John Bacon | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Sheriff: Gunman dead in Md. school shooting A Maryland Sheriff says the gunman at Great Mills High School is dead after he shot two students and a school resource officer fired at him. Sheriff Tim Cameron said a female student and male student were also injured. (March 20)

A student gunman opened fire Tuesday at a high school in southern Maryland, injuring two students before an armed school resources officer intervened, authorities said.

The gunman, identified as Austin Wyatt Rollins, 17, was killed, but St. Mary's County Sheriff Tim Cameron said it was not immediately clear whether the school officer fired the fatal shot or whether the gunman killed himself.

The attack began shortly before classes were scheduled to start at Great Mills High, a 1,500-student school 65 miles south of Washington, D.C. Cameron said Rollins was armed with a Glock, semiautomatic handgun when he shot a 16-year-old female student in a hallway. A 14-year-old male student also was shot.

"Our school resource officer was alerted to the events," Cameron said. "He engaged the shooter and fired a round; subsequently the shooter fired a round as well."

Cameron said it was not clear whether the gunman shot himself or fired at the resource officer, identified as Deputy First Class Blaine Gaskill.

The female student was hospitalized in critical condition, and the male student was in stable condition, Cameron said. Gaskill, who was not injured, followed protocol, Cameron added.

"This is what we prepare for, this is what we pray we will never have to do," Cameron said. "The notion that this can't happen here is no longer a notion."

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Cameron said the shooter and the female victim had a prior relationship. Authorities were reviewing social media posts to "piece together" a possible motive for the shooting, he said. He asked that no one jump to conclusions until the investigation is concluded.

"We are a very tight-knit community," Cameron said. "So now what I would ask our community to do is pray for the victims."

The shooting took place less than a week after some Great Mills students joined tens of thousands of students across the nation in a walkout to protest gun violence. The walkout was spearheaded by survivors of the Valentine's Day rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., that killed 17 students and faculty.

Parkland teens expressed solidarity Tuesday with the students at Great Mills on Twitter.

"Less than a WEEK ago Great Mills High School students walked out with us to protest gun violence...now they’re experiencing it for themselves," tweeted Jaclyn Corin. "The state of our country is disgusting - I’m so sorry, Great Mills."

Tweeted Emma González: "We are Here for you, students of Great Mills together we can stop this from ever happening again."

The shooting also took place less than a month after Great Mills High School Principal Jake Heibel told parents that officials had investigated threats of a possible shooting. Law enforcement was contacted, and the threat was "not validated," Heibel told parents.

On Tuesday, the school was placed on lockdown immediately following the shooting. "There has been a shooting at Great Mills High School," the school district said in a statement on its website. "The school is on lockdown (and) the event is contained. The Sheriff's office is on the scene, additional information to follow."

Dozens of law enforcement vehicles surrounded the school on a cold, rainy day. The St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office urged parents to gather at another school in the county to reunite with their children.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said special agents from Baltimore and Hyattsville joined the investigation. Gov. Larry Hogan said state police were ready to provide support and that his office was monitoring the situation. "Our prayers are with students, school personnel and first responders," he said.

Jill Morris, president of the county education association, called the shooting "devastating" for the school's students.

"We are resolved to provide all the support and comfort we can to our colleagues and neighbors ... while we work together toward a day when no school community ever has to experience this type of tragedy," she said.