Police identify 2 dead in Kentucky high school shooting; 17 others injured

A student opened fire at a rural southwestern Kentucky high school Tuesday morning, killing two people and injuring 17 more, state authorities said. 

The shooting suspect, a 15-year-old boy who attends Marshall County High School in Benton, was arrested at the scene, said Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin.

The boy, whom authorities have not yet identified, will be charged with two counts of murder and multiple counts of attempted murder.

Law enforcement Tuesday night identified the deceased as 15-year-old Bailey Nicole Holt, who died at the scene, and 15-year-old Preston Ryan Cope, who died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center after being flown by helicopter.

"This is a wound that will take a long time to heal," Bevin said during a news conference at the Marshall County Board of Education while surrounded by Kentucky State Police representatives. "For some in this community, it will never heal."

In all, 14 of the 19 victims suffered gunshot wounds and five others suffered non-gunshot related injuries.

Five who were wounded — all males ages 15-18, including Cope — were taken by five medical helicopters to VUMC mid-morning, trauma doctors said Tuesday afternoon.

Cope had suffered a gunshot wound to the head.

The other four victims transported suffered gunshot wounds to the arms, chest and abdomen and are expected to live. Their estimated stay at VUMC is three to five days.

Tuesday evening, VUMC announced that a sixth patient from the school, a girl, had been brought to its children's hospital by ground and was listed in stable condition.

Doctors said Vanderbilt has had a trauma center for 30 years, but this is the first time they've dealt with a mass casualty event from a school shooting.

"We have to cut our emotions off when we're trying to save somebody's life," said Dr. Rick Miller, director of VUMC's trauma center.

When gunfire broke out

The shooting was reported just before 8 a.m. CST, and people on the scene described a chaotic setting.

A representative of Kentucky State Police said Tuesday night that the 15-year-old suspect walked into the school holding a pistol and immediately opened fire.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday night, KSP Commissioner Rick Sanders discussed the toll on first responders who worked the scene.

"One of our first troopers who arrived on the scene saw the young lady who died on the scene and thought it was his daughter," Sanders said, explaining the girls had been wearing similar clothing. "He had to go over and convince himself it was not his daughter."

Marshall County Attorney Jeffery Edwards said earlier in the day it did not appear the shooter targeted specific people, though KSP officials in the evening news conference declined to comment on whether they believe the victims were targeted.

“To walk in, the backpacks laying around, the phones laying around, going off … it’s indescribable,” Edwards said. “I’ve been doing this for 25 years. It’s not like anything I’ve experienced in my life.”

More:Here's what Kentucky officials are saying about the shooting at Marshall County High School

More:Kentucky School shooting: What we know

Police responded to the shooting on the school's campus at 416 High School Road just several minutes after gunfire broke out at 7:57 a.m., according to information from Bevin and Marshall County Emergency Management.

The shooting happened in the common area of the school before classes started, said Brian Roy, the former sheriff of Marshall County, who spoke with people at the scene of the shooting. 

Kentucky State Police said later Tuesday morning that the scene was secured and the shooting suspect was in custody after he was arrested by a sheriff’s office deputy.

The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also responded to the scene at the high school, according to officials with both agencies.  

The school is located in a home-rule class, rural community about 30 miles north of the Tennessee border and about 20 miles southeast of Paducah, Ky.

Shortly after the shooting, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tweeted his thoughts were with the school's students, teachers, faculty and the community.

"Thank you to the first responders who continue to put themselves in harm's way to protect others," he tweeted.

'It's a very close-knit community'

About a dozen Marshall County High School students went to the nearby Christian school when they could not get to their own, said Pastor Richie Clendenen, who leads Christian Fellowship Ministries.

Staff at Christian Fellowship School, which is a ministry of the church, took down their names and reported them to Marshall County High administrators, Clendenen said. The schools are sports rivals, but Marshall County often wins, he said.

Benton's population as of the last census was just under 4,500.

“It’s a very close-knit community,” Clendenen said. “Everybody pretty much knows everybody.”

Clendenen, who lives a few hundred yards from Marshall County High, was at home when he found out about the shooting. He heard the sirens and saw the helicopters flying overhead.

He immediately called the Christian Fellowship administrator to put their school on lockdown, too. He canceled his dentist appointment and headed to school.

Clendenen also reached out to a group of pastors in the community and discussed how to make themselves available to those affected by the shooting. Vigils are being planned. Members of his church have children who attend Marshall County High.   

“It just grieved me,” Clendenen said.

However, the tragedy of a school shooting is not an unfamiliar one for many Benton community members, he said.

Marshall County High is about 35 miles from Heath High School in West Paducah, where on Dec. 1, 1997, Michael Carneal opened fire on a group of praying students.

Carneal, 14, killed three people and wounded five others.

That shooting was not far from community members’ minds when word spread about Tuesday’s violence. 

“I think it just initially puts fear and grief in the hearts of everyone,” Clendenen said. “Everybody’s hearts just go out to the victims.” 
 

Reporters Holly Meyer and The Courier Journal contributed to this story. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.