An aspiring footballer and two girls have been named as the victims of the Michigan high school shooter. Hana St Juliana, 14, Tate Myre, 16, and Madisyn Baldwin, 17 were the three students killed by a 15-year-old who opened fire at Oxford High School in suburban Detroit just before 1 pm on Tuesday.
Myre, according to reports, was a "standout" football who played for the Oxford High School team. He died from his wounds on the way to the hospital in the back of a patrol car. He apparently got shot while trying to save the other two girls. Unfortunately all three died.
Young Lives Lost
According to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, Myre was shot when he, in a desperate bid to stop the 15-year-old shooter, tried to disarm him. The shooter was randomly firing and Myre tried to save his fellow schoolmates and in the process got hit.
After police arrived and arrested the suspect, they immediately tried to transport Myre to a hospital but he succumbed to his injuries in a patrol car. He was pronounced dead by the hospital authorities.
St Juliana and Baldwin were pronounced dead when officials arrived at the scene. There gunshot wounds were so severe that they died on the scene. "This kind of thing can happen anywhere and sadly it happened even in a sweet quiet community like Oxford," Oakland County Sheriff Michael J Bouchard said at a Tuesday night press briefing.
Deputies rushed to the school around 12:57 pm after receiving over a 100 calls on 911 of reports of a shooting. On reaching the school they arrested the 15-yaer-old gunman without incident. The 15-year-old gunman was in a hallway at that time and the sophomore put his hands in the air as deputies approached, police said.
Four in Critical Condition
Eight others were also wounded in the process, with all admitted to hospital presently. Police on Tuesday night said four were in a critical condition including a 14-year-old girl who was fighting for her life on a ventilator following surgery for chest and neck wounds at Hurley Medical Center in Flint. Authorities have launched an investigation but the suspect has refused to speak and his family has hired a lawyer.
Cops recovered a 9mm Sig Sauer semi-automatic handgun, bought by the teen's father on Friday, and later said the suspect had fired at least 15-20 rounds and had seven more rounds of ammunition left when he surrendered.
It is not yet clear where in the school the shooter started his rampage.
Myre, a junior running back and middle linebacker on the football squad, was described by a fellow Michigan high school football player as a beloved athlete in the area. "He was a standout player. He inspired many people and was loved by many people," Matt Johnson, 17, told The New York Post.
Baldwin was the oldest of three siblings and a senior who had already been accepted to several colleges, her family told ClickOnDetroit.
In a heartbreaking Facebook post before her family learned that she had not survived, Madisyn's grandmother Jennifer Graves Mosqueda wrote: "My granddaughter Madisyn Baldwin can not be located at all!!! Madisyn is 17 and a senior in this at Oxford High School. Our family are out on foot trying to find her and bring her home safe. She is not answering her cell phone, or text messages."
Three students, two boys aged 15 and 17 and a girl aged 17, were listed as "expected to survive" after being shot in the leg, hip and neck respectively. A 47-year-old teacher was discharged from McLaren Lapeer after being shot in the shoulder.
