Jackson Middle School 7th-grader who shot himself at school has died

An Ohio seventh-grader who brought a gun to school and shot himself inside a restroom just before classes began on Tuesday died on Wednesday, authorities said.

The student, identified by The Columbus Dispatch as 13-year-old Keith Simons, died of the self-inflicted gunshot wound at Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron, the Summit County Medical Examiner's Office announced.

On Tuesday investigators said they found a device in Simons' backpack intended to cause a distraction. Police said the device was not an explosive that would have harmed anyone, they also would not describe it in detail.

No other students were hurt in the shooting at Jackson Middle School, near Massillon.

It was not immediately clear whether the shooting was intentional or how Simons, who rode the bus to school, managed to sneak the .22-caliber long gun into the building, said Jackson Township Police Chief Mark Brink.

Authorities said they also did not know where the boy got the gun or if anyone else was involved.

Bomb-sniffing dogs searched the building, investigators said.

"They wouldn't tell us what was going on. I thought there was a school shooting. There was a lot of waiting," eighth-grader Alex Garcia told The Independent. "I didn't have any idea there was someone with a gun until I was released."

Parents rushed to the school, which has about 1,400 students, to get their children soon after administrators sent out a notice about the shooting.

Some waited outside the school for hours before the students were allowed to leave.

"That Florida shooting just happened, and you keep thinking about your kid," said Daniela Biller, who has three students at the school.