A teenage boy fatally shot and injured a 16-year-old student in a Nashville high school cafeteria Wednesday before shooting himself, authorities said.
Police said the suspect, 17-year-old Solomon Henderson, opened fire with a handgun at Antioch High School just after 11 a.m. CT.
The 16-year-old boy who was killed was identified as Joselyn Coria Escalante. According to police, the 17-year-old male student suffered abrasions on his arm and was treated at a hospital and released.
“To date, the investigation has not established a connection between Henderson and the two shooting victims,” police said in a statement Wednesday night. There is a gender,” he said.
Nashville Police Chief John Drake said earlier that Henderson, a current student at the school, rode the school bus that morning and then opened fire in the cafeteria.
“He entered the cafeteria, fired multiple shots, struck her, and then turned the gun on himself,” Drake said at a news conference.
The motive is unclear, but Drake said authorities were investigating “some material on the internet.”
One student said he witnessed people being shot and hid behind a trash can before fleeing out the back door.
“I saw people being shot, falling to the ground, bleeding. Me and my friends and everyone behind us jumped out of the side door in a crouch. “I didn’t fall, I didn’t get shoved. “We ran from near the back of the school near the football field,” the student told NBC affiliate station WSMV in Nashville.
The boy said he felt great “pain and sadness” after seeing people “shot in front of my face.”
The boy said the school was searching for students, but there were no metal detectors in place.
Metro Nashville Public Schools Superintendent Adrian Battle told reporters that the district has implemented a variety of safety measures over the years, including deploying school resource officers.
“We understand that there are questions about whether additional measures such as fixed metal detectors should be considered, although past research has shown that they have had limitations and unintended consequences. , we will continue to explore new technologies and strategies to enhance,” she said. School safety. ”
There were two school resource officers at Antioch High School, but they were in another part of the building when the shooting started, the police department said. They rushed to the cafeteria and arrived just after the gunman had killed himself, police said.
One parent said it was “unbelievable” what had happened.
“I say to all three of my kids every day, ‘I love you. Have a nice day.’ I say, ‘I love you, be well,’ but my kids aren’t answering the phone.” , it’s sad for whoever is trying to contact the child,” the parent told WSMV.
The students were taken by bus to Ascension St. Thomas Hospital, where they were reunited with their parents.
Officials said a SWAT team cleared the school.
Tennessee State Troopers, Homeland Security Special Agents and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are assisting.
Antioch High School is on lockdown and will be closed for the rest of the week.
Gov. Bill Lee said he had been briefed on the incident and expressed gratitude to law enforcement and first responders who “responded quickly and continued the investigation.”
“As we await further information, I join the people of Tennessee in praying for the victims, their families, and the school community,” he said in a post on X.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, contact Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988 or live chat at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
