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A student was killed and three others are in hospital after a fellow pupil carried out a mass shooting at a US high school.

Terrified teens and staff were forced to hide under desks in classrooms after the gunman opened fire in a hallway.

The killer came armed with two weapons, police said.

The first jammed and a heroic student attempted to intervene.

But the shooter had a second weapon and fatally shot the boy in the head before opening fire on three others, believed to be all girls, in the hallway.

They are in hospital but are expected to survive.

The suspect is in custody.

(Image: @KHQPeterMaxwell)

Michael Harper, 15, said he was a close friend of the shooter.

"He was weird," Michael told the Spokesman-Review.

"And he loved the show Breaking Bad.

"He never really seemed like that person who had issues.

"He was always nice and funny and weird.”

As the horror unravelled, one girl name Christina posted a distressing image of children sheltering in a nearby primary school after they were evacuated from the scene.

She wrote: "At Freeman elementary currently. I am a junior, evacuated from the high school. At least 4 shots."

Another student, who was not identified, gave a chilling account of what happened to a local news channel: "One of my best friends brought gun in a duffel bag to school.

"It put us in lockdown, three people were shot and one was killed.

"We all hid in the corner of our room we were crying .

"We heard the gunshots upstairs we saw everyone running and screaming.

"That's when alarm went off for lockdown."

The boy went on to say he believed his friend had been watching school shooting documentaries.

He added: "I was thinking that maybe it wasn’t my friend, but then...

"All the documentaries and stuff that he’s been watching.

"He sent me a picture on Snapchat and when he was talking..

"I thought there’s no way he would go through with it."

Another pupil claimed that before the shooting, the schoolboy was passing out notes saying he was going to do "something stupid that could get him killed."

A student told KHQ Local News that her cousin had been shot and suffered serious injuries.

The distraught youngster said: “I’ve just heard that she’s in critical condition, which is really scary.

“She got shot in the side and we don’t know if it’s lodged in her spine or her colon, but we know that it’s pretty critical.”

(Image: @KHQPeterMaxwell)

There were conflicting reports about the number of victims in Wednesday morning's shooting.

Fire officials eventually confirmed that one person was killed and three others were injured.

The Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital said three patients were in stable condition.

The suspect was arrested at the scene. Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich told reporters: "The shooter is in the back seat of a patrol car right now."

Armed police officers evacuated the school and went "room to room, floor by floor" as they swept the building for suspects and victims.

Terrified parents told of the moment they found out about the shooting at their children's school.

Parent Cheryl Moser told the Spokesman-Review that her son called her from a classroom on the second floor after hearing gunshots.

She said: “He called me and said ‘Mom there are gunshots'. He sounded so scared.

"I’ve never heard him like that. You never think about something happening like this at a small school.”

Victims were reportedly being treated at a playing field outside the school, and an air ambulance was sent to the scene.

A cordon was set up around the school, where worried parents gathered at police tape and desperately waited for updates.

Some were trying to ring or text their children's mobile phones to find out if they were ok.

Hours later, as parents reunited with their children, paramedics were called to help a parent who may have suffered a heart attack.

(Image: Google)

All schools in the area were locked down as a precaution for about an hour after the shooting occurred at 10.30am local time.

A mum named Megan Riggs, whose child attends one of the other schools that was locked down, wrote on Facebook: "My daughter goes to Sac. She is texting me from under her desk, where they were told to remain silent."

Washington Governor Jay Inslee offered condolences and praised school staff and emergency services.

He said: "This morning’s shooting at Freeman High School is heartbreaking.

"All Washingtonians are thinking of the victims and their families, and are grateful for the service of school staff and first responders working to keep our students safe.

"As Spokane County officials continue their investigation to get the answers to the questions so many of us have during these unthinkable tragedies, the Washington State Patrol and all state agencies will do whatever we can to help provide support and comfort in the days and weeks to come."

Spokane Mayor David Condon added: "Our hearts are broken by the events at Freeman High School this morning.

"This is a terrible day for the students, parents, teachers, administrators and the rest of that close-knit community.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by this horrendous tragedy.

"First responders in our region are one team.

"Spokane City employers were part of that team in the first moments and will be there for the Freeman community as it begins a long road to recovery."