One student was dead and two teenagers were critically injured after a shooting outside of East High School in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday afternoon.
Police at the scene said there are ‘multiple shooting victims outside of the school’ and three teenagers were in critical condition, KCCI reported.
The victims included two boys and a girl, Des Moines Fire Department spokesperson Ahman Douglass told CNN.
‘It is a punch in the gut that we have three kids in the hospital,’ Sgt Paul Parizek of the Des Moines Police Department said earlier. ‘But we are hoping for the best for them.’
Police detained an unknown number of possible suspects, said Parizek, adding he did not know if they were students.
Police received calls around 2.48pm local time, Parizek said, just before classes were scheduled to be dismissed.
A motive for the shooting was not immediately released.
‘Obviously, we threw every resource we had at this. We know that the kids in that school are our community’s most precious cargo,’ Parizek said.
‘It is sad but we do train for this. We do have to be prepared for it and this is why.’
The shooting occurred outside of school but still on the campus grounds.
The school was placed on lockdown.
‘There are reports of a shooting near East High School. Police are actively investigating. The district is working with staff and families. We will have more information as it becomes available,’ Des Moines Public Schools tweeted.
‘East High School is currently locked down,’ the school district added. ‘Please do not go to the school. More information will be available soon.’
Des Moines police and the school district gave East High School the all-clear around 3.28pm and students were dismissed on time.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives of Kansas City was also assisting with the investigation at the scene, the agency tweeted.
