6:54 a.m., March 7: Father of suspected Episcopal School shooter: "We are in shock"

A fired Episcopal High School teacher returned Tuesday afternoon packing an AK-47 assault-style rifle in a guitar case and gunned down Head of School Dale Regan before killing himself, Jacksonville police said.

The Rev. Kate Moorehead, the dean of St. John's Cathedral and the Episcopal Diocese of Florida, called Regan a beloved and dedicated educator whose loss stunned those who knew of her love for the school where she first began teaching in 1978. Regan was 63.

"We ask you to please pray for us as a community," Moorehead said. "We have full confidence that Dale Regan is already with God and in heaven with our lord and savior Jesus."

Police identified the killer as former Spanish teacher Shane Schumerth, 28.

Undersheriff Dwain Senterfitt said Schumerth killed Regan in her office before committing suicide. He said Schumerth was fired Tuesday morning, but no details were available about his dismissal.

Schumerth previously taught history and Spanish at John E. Ford Elementary in Duval County Public Schools. He also coached Ford Elementary's debate team in 2010 before resigning from the school system that June. He began working at Episcopal in August 2010.

Online state records contain no mention of any disciplinary action against Schumerth, and he had no known criminal record.

Schumerth's father, an instructor at a private school in Indiana, declined to comment, a school spokesman said.

Episcopal student Lilly Sheppard said she knew the shooter, who'd been a substitute in her French class.

"He was shy and he sat by himself a lot at lunch," said Sheppard, an eighth-grader. "He didn't really seem to fit in with the other teachers."

Slideshow: Shane Schumerth - Suspected gunman in Episcopal School of Jacksonville shooting

Maria Boyance, 16, said students knew Schumerth had been fired and had to be escorted out of class. She called him an "awkward man."

Seventh-grader Brandon Steele said some students even joked he would come back and do something. Then they were terrified and crying.

"At first we didn't know it was this serious, but a teacher made us stay in class and avoid the windows and not use our phones," Steele said.

Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Melissa Bujeda said the shooting at 4455 Atlantic Blvd. occurred shortly before 1:30 p.m. By 2 p.m. the Sheriff's Office sent out a message to the media to tell parents that the situation was under control and there were no outstanding suspects.

Police released few details about the shooting, including who owned the gun or when Schumerth got the weapon.

Anxious parents created a small traffic jam picking up their children.

Kevin Robbie, whose child is in the seventh grade, said, "I was stunned. I guess it can happen anywhere. There's all kind of nuts in the world."

Words of sympathy over her loss were offered by everyone from Gov. Rick Scott to local educators.

Jacksonville businessman Jim Winston, an Episcopal trustee emeritus, said Regan will be deeply missed.

"She was just extremely dedicated to that school, which she adored," Winston said. "She was an absolute delight to so many students, including my daughter. This is just an absolute tragedy."

Slideshow: Remembering Dale Regan

Share your memories of Head of School Dale Regan

C. Lamar Owens showed up at the school's entrance at sunset, carrying a note Regan had sent him just before Christmas.

Owens is an elder and worship chairman at St. Nicholas Park Christian Church, where good friend Allen Duke, Regan's father, is elder emeritus. Regan's handwritten note from "The desk of Dale Regan" was to inform Owens that her father had a blood clot in a leg.

She wrote that he would be in a St. Augustine rehabilitation center for treatment but wanted to be sure to get him a check for the church before Christmas.

"I am just devastated for him because of how it's going to affect him after just coming out of rehab, and this was his oldest daughter," Owens said.

Vigils for Regan were held Tuesday night at St. John's Cathedral, St. Mark's Episcopal Church and San Jose Episcopal Church. About 400 people attended the downtown ceremony at St. John's reciting some of Regan's favorite prayers.

The 900-student school released a statement that "The entire school family mourns the loss of our friend and leader."

The statement said the school will remain closed through the already-scheduled spring break until March 19.

Counseling and pastoral care will be provided to students, faculty, staff and others in need.

Moorehead said those affected by the killing were likely to go through a variety of emotions for months or years.

"I would tell the parents to hug with your children, pray with your children, pray for Dale, pray for the man who was so distraught that he committed this terrible act of violence, to pray for his soul, and to reassure them that the school will be continuing," Moorehead said.

Regan, a 2011 Times-Union EVE award winner honoring women in education, volunteerism and employment, started teaching English at Episcopal in 1978 before becoming the school's top administrator in 2006.

Not wishing to be known as the school's "head mistress," she accepted the position as "head of school," she said in a 2010 Times-Union story.

She called the job an "exciting adventure" and said if she'd ever step away, she'd return to teaching.

"I miss the classroom very much," she said.

The region's bishop and other Episcopal clergy converged on the school to provide chaplaincy and counseling services if they are needed, said the Rev. Kurt Dunkle, rector at Grace Episcopal Church in Orange Park.

"One of the great gifts of being part of a larger church, which we call a diocese, is that when you need your colleagues, they show up," Dunkle said.

He said he was in a meeting with Bishop Samuel Johnson Howard when they got word of the shootings. Howard is the spiritual leader of the Jacksonville-based Episcopal Diocese of Florida.

"The first thing he did was say we have to be there," Dunkle said.

The Times-Union would like to talk to anyone with information about the incident. Please call Reporter Jim Schoettler at (904) 359-4385 or (904) 338-1609 or email jim.schoettler@jacksonville.com.

Times-Union writers Dan Scanlan, Jeff Brumley, Adam Causey, Beth Cravey, Timothy Gibbons, Larry Hannan, Kate Howard, Charlie Patton, Topher Sanders and Dana Treen contributed to this story.

jim.schoettler@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4385