Two students at Madison Jr/Sr High School in the city of
Middletown were shot and taken to the hospital with
nonlife-threatening injuries, school district and Butler County
sheriff's officials said.
Two more students were also hurt, possibly by shrapnel, law
enforcement officials said.
Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones identified the shooter as
14-year-old James Austin Hancock. Hancock, who was a student at the
school, ran away after the shooting. Officials said they have a
motive for the shooting, but they declined to release it.
Hancock was being charged with two counts of attempted murder, two
counts of felonious assault, inducing panic and making terroristic
threats - all felony offenses.
The shooting victims - Cameron Smith, 15, and Cooper Caffery, 14 -
were in stable condition, Jones said. Brant Murray, 15, and
Katherine Doucette, 14, suffered minor injuries.
The shooting occurred about 11:30 a.m. local time, when Hancock
entered the school cafeteria and began shooting, Jones said. Hancock
then threw the gun away and ran off, but was later caught.
The gun appeared to be a .380 caliber semiautomatic handgun, Jones
said.
The cafeteria had students inside and lunch trays were scattered
everywhere, Jones said.
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"All students are safe at this time," the district said on its
website and on Facebook. Local schools were placed on lockdown and
students were dismissed early.
District officials said the school will be closed on Tuesday, as
staff members make plans on moving forward, including offering
on-site counseling.
Middletown, Ohio, is about 23 miles (37 km) southwest of Dayton and
38 miles north of Cincinnati.
(Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales and Justin Madden in Chicago;
Editing by Bernadette Baum and Matthew Lewis)
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