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2 dead, 12 injured after mass shooting at Kentucky high school

The shooter is in custody.

Two teenagers are dead and a dozen shot and wounded after a 15-year-old male entered his Kentucky high school on Tuesday morning armed with a handgun and started firing.

The first shot rang out at 7:57 a.m. — before the day’s lessons at Marshall County High School had even begun. By 8:06 a.m., first responders had arrived on the premises.

A 15-year-old girl was pronounced dead at the scene, and a 15-year-old boy died after he was transported to a hospital. Aside from the 12 that sustained gunshots, other students were also injured in the chaos. The suspect has been taken into custody and will be charged with murder and attempted murder.

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The tragedy has rattled the town of Benton, a small farming community with a population of some 4,500, located about 170 miles west of Louisville. Earlier in the day, armed officers escorted students out of the school and onto buses, where they were transported to North Marshall Middle School. Wounded students were airlifted to nearby hospitals. FBI agents and personnel from Louisville, as well as the ATF, were on the scene to assist local authorities.

In the chaotic aftermath of the shooting, authorities had been unable to state definitively the number of people who’d been shot, despite being on scene. “There are injuries on scene, but we can’t confirm how many or to what extent,” Sgt. Josh Lawson of Kentucky State Police Public Affairs told VICE News in an email earlier Tuesday. At that point, authorities were reporting just one fatality, but they updated the toll to two in a press conference hours later.

A witness recorded this video:

Paul Chitwood, executive director of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, was meeting with other pastors in Benton on Tuesday. He and his fellow pastors made their way to the high school after getting word of the shooting.

“We came over to offer counseling and prayer support,” Chitwood told VICE News. He described an orderly scene as buses arrived to the high school. “Everyone was calm. There was a lot of tears, but everyone’s trying to maintain order,” Chitwood said.

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Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin was seen leaving the capitol in Frankfort, more than three hours away from Benton, with two staffers, according to LEX 18 News. Bevin, who released an official statement, said he was headed toward Marshall County.

Tuesday’s tragedy reached the ears of the national party, as well. Rep. James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, and Sen. Rand Paul, also a Republican from Kentucky, acknowledged the shooting on Twitter.

"My thoughts & prayers go out to the students & faculty at Marshall County High School where there has been a tragic school shooting," Comer wrote.

“Deeply saddened by the tragic news out of Benton, KY this morning and closely monitoring the situation,” Paul wrote.

For those old enough to remember, Tuesday’s tragic events at Marshall County High School are reminiscent of the shooting at Heath High School in West Paducah, about a 30-minute drive away from Benton, that killed three and injured five others in 1997.

Cover image: Emergency crews respond to Marshall County High School after a fatal school shooting Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018, in Benton, Ky. Authorities said a shooting suspect was in custody. (Ryan Hermens/The Paducah Sun via AP)