Two students shot and wounded at General Mills High School

A male student shot two fellow students with a handgun at Great Mills High School on Tuesday at 7:45 a.m. before he was fatally wounded in a standoff with the school's resource officer. One victim, a 16-year-old female, was taken to the Shock Trauma unit and is in critical condition, while the other victim, a 14-year-old boy, is "in good condition" according to a representative from MedStar St. Mary's Hospital. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the shooting, and the shooter's motivation and relationship to the victims is currently unknown.

St. Mary's County Sheriff Tim Cameron said the school resource officer engaged the shooter and ended the threat, which occurred just before classes began at 7:45 a.m. "The school resource officer fired a round, at least a round, at the shooter and, I believe, the shooter also fired a round," Cameron explained. The resource officer was not injured, but the gunman was pronounced dead at 10:41 a.m. after being transported to the University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center in La Plata.

Students were evacuated from Great Mills and transferred to Leonardtown High School. Some parents reunited with their kids after showing photo I.D. Investigators held back eyewitnesses at Great Mills for questioning. One student at Great Mills, Jonathan Freese, called CNN from his cellphone during the lockdown. "Police were going through classrooms to clear the school. I'm still a little shaken up," Freese said. Other schools within St. Mary's County are continuing their normal daily schedule.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan issued a statement Tuesday morning that the Great Mills shooting should continue to fuel the ongoing discussion about gun control. "Although our pain remains fresh and the facts remain uncertain, today's horrible events should not be an excuse to pause our conversation about school safety. Instead, it must serve as a call to action," Hogan said.

This is the 17th school shooting that has occured in the 11 weeks of 2018, which averages out to 1.5 shootings per week.

Editor's Note: This is not original reporting. All information has been compiled from various news sources. Silver Chips Online posts this news summary to provide readers with a forum for discussion.